The Rambles of a Rat

he German Hamster, he became so drowsy as the weather grew colder, that it became evident that he could sleep day and night upon boards, t

get rid of rats, that we thought it better to remove on our own four feet while we could, instead of being ca

s and cats in the streets, or be crushed beneath rolling wheels.

hungry,"

I," rej

" observed the bold rat; "let's turn down thi

going first; but we were met, almost at the entrance, by two s

n?" said Whiskerandos, not appearing to n

the house, and the kitchen, belong to us

ried the other, very fiercely, "h

ed to pay twice." The brown rats looked at the warrior with keen, wondering gaze, while Whiskerandos calmly continued, "I lost my ears in single combat with a ferret; he who exacted the toll lost his life in exchange,

of the brown rats towards the valiant Whiskerandos. They, however, looked very suspiciously at me, and I fanci

skerandos soon ended the difficulty. "Let me introduce to you my friend Ratto," said he, "my very

oceeded amicably on our way, till the brown rats led us throug

pt that a few black beetles were creeping on the sanded floor. The fire, which must have been a very large one, had almost burnt out; but a

larder, but nothing could we discover fit for food. A jar on a shelf looked tempting enoug

y shout the three other rats came eagerly running towa

Brownies, in a tone of angry disappointment; "I have long

but here the difficulty did not end, for the neck of the bottle was too narrow by far to admit the head of a rat; and

k is to us!" exclaimed one o

nt he had dipped in his long tail, and then whisking i

notice of them, however, and only playfully observed, "It is Ratto who should have thought of this, since nature has

be sure, but my appetite craves something solid;" and I looked

tempt to nibble at the hard polished crockery, he wasted not his energies in any such fruitless endeavour; but, putting his mighty strength to the task, he pushed the whole ja

skerandos sprang from his shelf, too eager to partake of the tempting repast to take the slower method of climbing. I must confess that of all pleasures upon eart

t noise at the kitchen door. A stealthy sound, as of human feet moving slowly and cautiously along; a timid hand laid

n, when the clock suddenly striking One, made us all start, and so frightened the Brownies, that off they scampered into their

e safer to call

, and the villains cannot escape.

r leave you to mee

n a long red dressing-gown, a candle in one hand, a loaded blunderbuss in the other, and with a most ludicrous expression on his pallid face, as though he were making up his mind to kill somebody, but was a little afraid that somebody might kill him instead! His wife, looking ghastly in her curl-papers with her eyes and mouth wide open in fright, was trying to pul