This gif flashed me back to the days of my youth, when I had a small hamster grouping of my own.

...

First there were four altogether, with two having earned their names for cleverness or leadership.

HOD was a natural leader. All of the hamsters followed him around the cage, staying near him when the great light in the sky went out and darkness crept in around them. They watched him run in the Wheel, and observed his fairness after breaking up fights. His rule was gentle and kind.

Alice may have had a bit of rat in her. It was impossible to know, she didn't say much about her past, but she was big as hamsters came. Hamsters, by nature, are such cuties, and so friendly. Not Alice, though. She was a brute at times, with enough deviousness in her to put her size to intelligent use. On at least five occasions she had devised escape from the walls which contained them, in each instance carrying out her plans without fail. Every one of her escapes she had climbed up the soft mountain to approach the giant who kept them, hoping to cut his soft skin, bleeding him in the darkness. Though each time she had been foiled at the last moment, she had always managed to escape the giant's wrath long enough build food stores all over the land.

HOD loved his fellow hamsters deeply, and they loved him, except for Alice of course. She always stayed back when it was time to rest, watched how the unnamed ones fawned over him. It gnawed at her, seeing how popular the kind HOD was despite her obvious capacity to lead them all to freedom. While she always joined in with the group for warmth at night, her resentment never gave in.

Time went on, and eventually the hamsters paired. HOD and his adoring female, as well as Alice and her male. Each had a brood of their own, and for a while Alice calmed.

Of course over time, Alice noticed that her children often went over to HOD, normally following her fool of mate. She had never been one to show great love for the children, and it was not surprising that they would find comfort elsewhere. But still, what betrayal, don't you think? The creatures she gave birth to, finding comfort in another hamster's fur? It wouldn't stand - Alice could not abide.

One night after darkness fell and the giant slumbered, Alice awoke to find herself alone in the corner. She came alert suddenly, looking up to see where her mate and children had gone. It did not take long for her to spot them, huddled around HOD, sharing their warmth with him. For a moment she stared, considering the options. Alice settled back to the ground, walked over to the group, and cuddled in. Her mind was fast at work, her resentment again finding root within.

The next night, Alice did not sleep but instead waited. Her patience was rewarded as she felt her mate stir, nudging the children. Alice stood sharply up, and walked over to her startled mate. She had to be fast to avoid detection and so quickly rolled him over, biting deeply into his throat. She gnawed and gnawed, warmth flooding from his ripped flesh. Finally he was dead, and Alice turned to her children, the few who had already woken cowering in fear.

They were dispatched first, the witnesses to her dark deed. Next were the sleeping children. Each was devoured, leaving nothing but their red lifeblood stained into the wood chip floor. She moved back to the corner and curled up against the invisible wall, leaving her mate's corpse to rot. Darkness enveloped her, and she slept.

The next day was confusion. The giant's bellow woke all the hamsters from their slumber. He reached in and took the nameless male's corpse, leaving suddenly for a while. HOD stared across the blood stained plain, watching Alice very carefully. Alice merely stared back, gnawing on a wood chip. Eventually the giant returned, shouting nonsense. The hamsters were gathered up, and the ground upheaved. When the hamsters returned, the Wheel had moved, the blood stained chips were gone, and a mysterious freshness hung in the air.

HOD gathered his family, and brought them to the Wheel. Alice retreated to a corner, and dug into the new wood chip ground. She waited, biding her time.

Darkness fell, and Alice came. It was no surprise to HOD to see her in the night, but what was he to such a beast? It's hard to deny that most hamsters are essentially very stupid, and though perhaps HOD had lead his fellows, he was no match for Alice. Of course she did not kill him immediately. Silence was of no importance here, so she bit into his neck and disabled him so that he could watch. First there was the female, so frail compared to her attacker. Alice made quick work of that one, then turn her attention on the children, murdering and consuming them where they lay.

Amid the commotion, the giant stirred. The commotion had roused him, and he moved suddenly to turn on the light. When he turned to the cage, Alice stood triumphantly over HOD's bleeding form, staring remorselessly up. Alice waited while the giant's rage built, until he reached into the cage. With all the strength she could muster, Alice bit into the giant's hand and found success as she was flung across the room. While slamming into the wall stunned her momentarily, the pain was worth the victory. Quickly gathering her wits about her, she darted through a crack which the Great Gate did not cover, and made her way to her nearest secret food store.

The giants which roamed those lands looked for Alice the entire night and much of the next day, to no avail. Though she was gone, and never to be seen again, her actions gained her notoriety. She was the first hamster to receive its Second Names: Alice the Vengeful, Alice the Murderer, and Alice the Free. None other which came after would ever be so named, and none other would ever be so deserving.