EXCERPT

It was midnight. The time when all night time creatures - like rats - begin to play. But Sheba was bored.

"I wish we could go outside," she said. "There must be all sorts of places to go and things to see."

"There are lots of things for us to do here," said Salome.

"I'm bored with them all," Sheba huffed. "If we were wild rats, and lived out in the country, we'd have all sorts of things to do."

Watcha!" said a strange voice.

Sheba ran to the front of the cage and looked over to where the voice was coming from. Sitting over by the fireplace, she saw a very big, very brown - rat.

"Who are you?" asked Salome.

"Where did you come from?" asked Sheba.

The brown rat scratched his ear and said, "I'm Trevor. Your cousin."

Salome and Sheba glanced at one another.

"But we don't have any cousins. I don't think," said Salome.

Another grimy nose appeared from behind the wallpaper.

"Oh," said Trevor. "This is Nettle. The wife."

"Hello," said Nettle, as she squeezed through a hole in the wall, which had been covered by the wallpaper. "Please to meet you, I'm sure."

"Are you wild rats?" Sheba asked excitedly.

"Yes, we're wild rats," said Trevor defensively. "Got a problem with that?"
Salome quickly shook her head. She didn't want to have a problem with these particular rats. They looked very rough.

"Where do you live?" asked Sheba. "Do you live in the country? In the fields?"
Nettle laughed. "Bless you, Dear," she said. "There aren't any fields around here. Unless you count the garbage tip."