A giant hamster stands on a desk in a chaotic school classroom, as children and adults scream in surprise and dismay. Spilled coffee and a banana peel are on the floor. The principal holds a bagel, looking shocked.

At Kirkwood School, the students were already going bananas by nine o’clock. Someone had let a hamster loose in the cafeteria, and the teachers were yelling, “Catch it! Catch it!” but the hamster was as fast as lightning, zooming under tables and around chairs. Mrs. Fowers tried to grab it but slipped on a banana peel and spilled her coffee everywhere. Meanwhile, Mr. Jones told the kids to calm down, but they were laughing so hard they couldn’t hear him. One student climbed on a chair and shouted, “We need a hamster wrangler!” Another claimed he was the official cheese guard, although nobody knew what that meant. The principal walked in with a bagel and asked, “What in the world is going on here?” Just then, the hamster jumped right into his bagel bag and disappeared, and everyone screamed. See more