The Lamp That Counted to Three

Mei works at the pet shop three evenings a week. Today she cleans all the small-animal cages alone for the first time. She feels proud. She moves each animal to a travel box. She cleans the cage, and the animal goes back.

At closing time the shop is quiet. Only the fish tanks glow. Hugh sweeps the floor and counts the bird seed. Now he waits for her at the back room door.

"You look worried," says Mei.

"The lamp does it every few minutes," says Hugh.

They go into the back room. It is long and narrow. It holds boxes, bags of sand and empty cages. In the corner, a small desk lamp stands on a shelf. It flickers. Two short blinks, one long one. Then it stays dark for a moment. Then it starts again.

"Two short, one long," says Hugh. "It is always the same."

"It's a bad bulb," says Mei.

"A bad bulb doesn't count to three."

Mei laughs, but she watches the lamp for a long time. Two short, one long. Then the same again. The pattern is perfect. It is a little scary.

"Maybe the wire is loose," she says. "I'll check the plug."

She pulls the plug. The lamp goes dark. The room is quiet. Then, from somewhere behind the boxes, comes a tiny scratching sound.

Hugh freezes. "Did you hear that?"

"Yes."

"Is it a mouse?"

"We sell mice," says Mei. "We don't have wild ones. At least, I hope not."

She follows the cord of the lamp with her eyes. It runs along the shelf and down behind some boxes. Near the floor, the plastic cover of the cord is gone. Small teeth marks show on the wire.

"Something chews the cord," says Mei. "Every time it bites, the lamp blinks."

"Two bites, then a rest, then one long bite," says Hugh. "That's the pattern."

"Teeth marks," says Mei. Her stomach turns cold. "Hugh, where is the ferret?"

She runs to the wall of cages. Her heart is loud in her ears. The door of the big cage at the end is not shut. The small metal latch hangs open. The cage is empty.

"Oh, no," she says. "I cleaned this cage this evening. I forgot to close the latch."

"So the ferret is loose," says Hugh.

"And it chews electric cords!" says Mei. "That's very dangerous for it. We have to find it. Fast."

Hugh takes his phone and turns on the torch. Mei takes a small bag of dried fish from the shelf. They walk slowly between the boxes.

The scratching sound comes again. It is on the left. Then it is on the right. The ferret is quick. Every time they come close, it moves away.

"Wait," Hugh whispers. "If it hears us, it runs."

"Then we stop walking," says Mei. "Let it come to us."

They stand still and wait for the sound. It begins again, soft and near. Hugh points his light at a gap between two boxes. Two small black eyes shine in the dark. A long brown body slides back and disappears.

"There!" he says.

Mei opens the bag of fish and holds it out. The smell fills the air. She puts a few pieces on the floor in a line. The line runs from the gap to an open travel box.

"You're making a road," says Hugh.

"A road to dinner."

The ferret comes out slowly. It sniffs the first piece. It eats it. It sniffs the second piece. Its tail moves. Then it runs along the line and goes into the box.

"Now," says Mei.

Hugh closes the lid, very gently. The ferret looks at them and finishes its fish.

"Got you," says Hugh. He sits down on the floor. His hands shake.

Mei sits next to him. "I almost lost an animal on my first night alone," she says. "I should tell the boss."

"First we fix everything," says Hugh. "Then we tell."

They fix it together. They put the ferret in its own cage and close the latch. Then they push the latch down one more time, to be sure. Hugh finds a big clip in the drawer. He puts it on the door. Hugh puts the old lamp in the bin. "It is not safe now," he says. He brings a new lamp from the shelf in the shop. Mei tapes its cord high on the wall, far from the floor.

"It looks a little silly," she says.

"It looks safe," says Hugh.

She plugs the new lamp into the wall. It lights up and stays bright. There is no blinking now. The pattern is gone.

Mei counts the cages one by one, and Hugh counts them again. Every door is shut. Every animal is in its place. The small shop is calm.

She looks at the clip, the tape and the clean cage. Then she looks at Hugh and smiles.

Hugh looks at the lamp, the tape and the fish bag. "Mei," he says, "who will tell the boss?"