The picture above is not Elli Mae, but it is what she looked like.

I wrote Elli Mae's Adventures in the third person.  I am Billy in the story.  This is a true story of my pet rat Elli Mae.  She was a hooded rat and I have fond memories of her.  I hope you enjoy this story.

Elli Mae had a good friend who took her every where he could. Billy was 14 years old when he first saw Ellie Mae, she was just a few weeks old.  He knew he had to take her home with him.  Ellie Mae was a Hooded Rat and she had a black head and white body with a black stripe down her back.  Billy would hold Ellie Mae in his hand.  She was so small he could barely feel her walking around the palm of his hand.  Ellie Mae loved to ride on Billy’s shoulder and went with him a lot of places.   When she got a little older, she would cling to Billy’s shoulder as he rode his bicycle around town. Some of Billy’s friends did not like Ellie Mae but that was ok by him because he liked to explore places by himself anyway.   Now that Ellie Mae was a good friend, she would tag along.   

On lazy summer days they would take Billy’s johnboat to the bayou at the end of his street and spend most of the day exploring the wilderness along the bayou.  Ellie Mae always stayed on Billy’s shoulder.  They saw turtles, snakes and alligators.  There were a lot of birds in the trees watching them as they motored down the bayou.  It seemed like a new adventure was always around the corner.   Sometimes Billy would blow a loud whistle just to watch the birds fly around.  Ellie Mae liked to watch the birds fly.   Billy would bring snacks like crackers or maybe a peanut butter sandwich.  Billy would always share his lunch with Ellie Mae.  She did not like coke however, so Billy would to bring water for her.   

When they were not exploring the bayou they were riding his bike everywhere.  Sometimes they would walk into a store but the store owners would make them leave.   That did not bother them too much since Billy rarely had any money to spend.   Sometimes when he did have a little money, Billy would hide Ellie Mae under his shirt so he could go in the store to buy something to drink and a bag of M&Ms with peanuts.  Billy knew of a big oak tree he would climb to sit on a large limb to enjoy his snack.  Ellie Mae liked to eat M&Ms but did not like when Billy offered her red twizzlers. 

As the Summer turned into Fall, the weather would get cooler.  Billy would wear his hooded jacket while he rode his bike and sometimes Ellie Mae would climb into the hood to stay warm.  That Halloween Billy took Ellie Mae with him to go through a Haunted House.  In the house there was a “witch” that welcomed the people who were entering.  The witch asked Billy who he was supposed to be for Halloween.  Billy responded that he was Willard.  Now Willard was a popular scary movie at that time about a boy who had pet rats.  The witch was not sure what to say so Billy picked up Ellie Mae by the tip of her tail and she started to climb her tail like a rope.  When she got to Billy’s hand she climbed on top of his hand and sat there looking at the witch.  The witch screamed so loud that other workers came running to see what was wrong.  Ellie Mae wondered what all the fuss was about.  Billy was asked to leave the haunted house.  

When Thanksgiving came along Billy had to leave Ellie Mae in her cage which was in Billy’s room while guests were over for the big meal.  Billy would sneak some food and give them to her when no one was looking.  Ellie Mae liked the turkey meat. 

Christmas brought new decorations in the house which included the traditional Christmas tree in the living room.  Ellie Mae liked to climb into the tree and look out as people walked by.  One time when someone was visiting, they were looking at the different ornaments and they saw Ellie Mae looking back.  They commented about the unusual ornament when Ellie Mae decided to climb down the tree.  The guest screamed and did not know what to do.  Billy had to rescue Ellie Mae before she got hurt. 

Spring showed up with an explosion of green; the grass turned green, tree leaves turned green.  Ellie Mae liked to run through the fresh green grass, but never too far from Billy.   Billy’s Dad had a riding mower and Ellie Mae liked to ride on Billy’s shoulder as he mowed the yard.   She did not like the loud engine very much but she did not want to leave Billy so she endured the noise.  Sometimes she would climb down to ride in Billy’s lap to get away from the noise of the engine. 

As Billy grew older, his interests turned towards cars and he bought an old Volkswagen Bug to work on.  Sometimes Billy would bring Ellie Mae’s cage out where he was working on the car.  She enjoyed watching Billy work, but did not like his greasy hands.  Sometimes the tools would be really loud and she did not like that either.  Ellie Mae stay in Billy’s room more and more and missed spending time outside with Billy.  Billy always took good care of her, but she missed spending time with him. 

The years went by and Billy grew older.  He had a lot of different pets through the years, but always thought of the good times he had with Ellie Mae.