The gerbils have had a idea…
It arrived on Wednesday and spread with alarming speed. By breakfast Gingersnap had overheard the phrase World Cup. By mid-morning nobody knew what it meant. By lunchtime everyone was participating.
The blanket mountain became tournament headquarters.
Gwendolyn claimed the highest point and immediately began directing traffic despite having no authority whatsoever. Gerbils hurried in every direction carrying scraps of paper, pieces of cardboard and objects that were clearly unrelated but had somehow become important.
Gherkin attempted to construct a map. Nobody knew what countries looked like, so she invented several. One appeared to consist entirely of corners. Another seemed to be mostly tunnel. A third was accidentally sat on before completion and thereafter represented a coastal region.
Glitter became responsible for decorations. This responsibility had not been assigned to her. She simply started decorating things until everyone accepted the situation. Before long strips of coloured paper appeared throughout the habitat. Loops were hung from bridges. Banners appeared over tunnels. A cardboard archway emerged near the food bowl.
No one knew what it said. It looked official. That was sufficient.
Meanwhile Gumdrop had discovered that international sporting tournaments apparently involved groups. Nobody knew what groups were either. By mid-afternoon there were groups everywhere. Some contained countries. Some contained cushions. One contained Gooseberry, who had fallen asleep in the middle of proceedings and become classified as Group D. The distinction was not always clear.
The atmosphere grew steadily more serious.
Gerbils raced through tunnels carrying folded pieces of paper. Important announcements were made. Lists were written. Lists were lost. New lists were created to replace the missing lists and then immediately misplaced as well.
At one point Gasket organised a draw. No one was entirely certain what was being drawn. The event was nevertheless considered a success.
As evening approached the habitat had taken on the appearance of a major international sporting venue designed entirely by enthusiastic amateurs.
Coloured markers appeared on cardboard. Countries existed. Teams existed. A tournament existed. The details remained vague. The excitement did not.
Everywhere Gingersnap looked, gerbils were hurrying somewhere with the urgent expression of creatures involved in something tremendously important. For the first time in their history, the Gerbil World Cup was underway.
Nobody had yet reached the football stage.
That could wait until Thursday.