A man steps into a packed elevator. It’s a silent ascent, everyone avoiding eye contact. Suddenly, a distinct, subtle sound breaks the quiet. The man looks around nervously, but no one reacts. He lets out a quiet sigh of relief.
A few floors higher, the elevator stops, and a woman gets on. As the doors begin to close, the man hears a voice from the corner of the elevator.
“Excuse me,” a woman says politely, “did anyone lose a hamster?”
Everyone in the elevator looks around, confused. The man who heard the sound earlier glances at the woman, then at the floor.
“A hamster?” he whispers. “No, I don’t think so.”
The woman holds up a tiny, fluffy, very comfortable-looking hamster, which she’d been carrying in her coat pocket.
“Oh, good,” she says, a slight smile on her face. “Because I just found this one under the shoe of the gentleman next to me!”