Christmas morning and Nathan tore into one of the packages beneath the family Christmas tree. He felt the shock of surprise when he saw the gleaming Chronivac, the latest version, in its attractive packaging.
"Someone looks happy with his gift," his father remarked.
"Just be sure to be very careful with it," his mother said. "It's not a toy."
"Gee, mom," Nathan said. "I know that."
"I just read all those horror stories about careless users," his mother said.
"Your mother is right," his father said, taking the package from his son's hands. "We should send this back to the store."
"Wait!" Nathan squeaked. "I need that!"
He kept squeaking, but his parents laughed at him. That's when he woke.
•••••
He had been dreaming, but waking simply continued his nightmare. It was Christmas Eve, and he was confined in a glass tank, the pet of the eight-year-old son of the burglar who had broken into Nathan's home.
His squeaking must have awakened Bobby, because the pajama-clad boy leaned down, pushing his face against the glass. The little mouse was certainly a fun pet.
"You want to come out and play?" Bobby asked.
The thought of playing with some kid didn't hold any appeal, but getting free of the cage was a top priority. He looked up, twitched the whiskers on his nose, and steeled himself for the experience of being picked up in Bobby's hand. Bobby carried the mouse to his bed, dropping his small pet on the covers. He watched as the tiny mouse scampered over the blanket.
A voice loudly interrupted their play, calling Bobby for breakfast. "Want to come with me?" Bobby asked.
Without waiting for an answer, the boy lifted Nathan the mouse and dropped him into the pocket of his pajama top. The tiny rodent's white snout and pink nose peeked over the edge of the pocket, greeting the boy's dad.
Robert frowned. "Bobby, you shouldn't bring your pet to the breakfast table!"
"But dad, he's very well behaved!"
In truth, the mouse didn't squirm or try to escape. Satisfied, Robert poured cereal into a bowl, followed by milk from a carton.
Nathan had to watch hungrily as the boy lifted his spoon time after time, shoveling cereal and milk into his mouth. It wasn't fair that he had to eat boring mouse kibble while his owner ate cereal and milk.
As Bobby ate breakfast, his dad placed a shiny device on the table and inspected it.
"What's that, dad?"
"I'm not sure," Robert said. "I found it."
"Found it?" Nathan listened with outrage. "You mean you stole it!" The man was inspecting his Chronivac.
As the man kept tinkering with the device, Nathan realized his solution was almost at hand. If he could get to the device and simply reverse the process...
With a surprise move, he climbed from Bobby's pocket and dropped onto the tabletop. He raced past the milk carton, detouring around salt and pepper shakers as he moved in a straight line toward Robert and the Chronivac.
"Come back!" A startled Bobby yelled.
Nathan saw the necessary switch on the side of the device. "If I flip that switch, I'm me again!"
He was so focused on his destination he failed to watch the huge burglar.
Inches from his destination, a tall glass slammed down over the mouse. Nathan bumped his pointy snout against the glass barrier. "No!" He squeaked.
"That's why you can't bring that pet to the table," the man said. He lifted the glass, scooped the mouse into his hand, and returned the pet to his son.
"Take him back to his cage," Robert said. "No more freedom of the house. If you want to keep him as a pet, he's got to stay in his cage."
Nathan could have cried as he was transferred from the man's hands into the waiting hands of the boy who now owned him.
"OK, dad," Bobby promised, relieved to have his pet back.