Melissa Litwicki's story reminds me of something that happened last May. I was coming home from Cornell for the summer, so my parents brought most of my belongings, including my ferrets, home when they visited just before finals. Since they weren't sure if my room was still ferret-proof, Cedric and Alexander were confined to their cage for a week or so, except for playtime supervised by my sister. Valerie is the only one in the house who isn't afraid to touch them [You can't teach old parents new tricks, I guess ;^) ] Anyway, one day my sister was at school and my Mom went into my room to empty her things in preparation for my arrival. She nearly had a heart attack when she opened the door and there was Cedric on the top shelf of my floor-to-ceiling bookshelf and Alexander bouncing on my bed. Afraid to pick them up, she ran out of the room and closed the door. She decided that she just couldn't go back in to put them in their cage, so she drove to my sister's school and had her dismissed. They arrived at home and my sister went into the room to take care of these crazed monsters while my Mom waited by the door. Valerie says, "come here Mom". Mom peeks in the room and there are Cedric and Alexander, fast asleep in their hammock inside their cage. Valerie walks to cage, fastens latch and crazed ferrets are contained once more. I think that my Mom's liking, or at least acceptance, of the ferrets dated from that moment. Bill Cedric "Climbing bookcases is hard work!!" Alexander "I was just a baby. Babies are SUPPOSED to sleep!" [Posted in FML issue 1732]