The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett

think anyone is trying to be kindhere,” said Darktan. “There was another rat in there with it. At least,” he added, “there was part of a rat in there with it. I think it’s been eating it to stay alive.”
    â€œVery sensible.” Hamnpork nodded.
    â€œWe found something else,” Darktan said, still drawing furrows in the dirt. “Can you see these, sir?”
    He’d drawn a network of lines on the floor.
    â€œHrumph. I can see them, but I don’t have to know what they are,” said Hamnpork. He rubbed his nose. “I’ve never needed any more than this.”
    Darktan gave a patient sigh. “Then smell , sir, that this is a…a picture of all the tunnels we’ve explored today. It’s…the shape I have in my head. We’ve explored a lot of the town. There’s a lot of the”—he glanced at Peaches—“a lot of the kind traps, mostly empty. There’s poison all over the place. It’s mostly quite old. Lots of empty box traps. Lots of killer traps, still set. And no live rats. None at all, except for our…new friend. We know that’s very odd. I sniffed around a bit near where I found her, and I smelled rats. Lots of rats. I mean lots .”
    â€œAlive?” asked Dangerous Beans.
    â€œYes.”
    â€œAll in one place?”
    â€œIt smells that way,” said Darktan. “I think a squad should go and look.”
    Dangerous Beans padded over to the rat and sniffed it. The rat sniffed at him. They touched paws.
    The watching Changelings were astonished. Dangerous Beans was treating the keekee as an equal .
    â€œLots of things, lots of things,” he murmured. “Many rats…humans…fear…lots of fear…lots of rats, crowded…food…rat…you said she’s been eating rat?”
    â€œIt’s a rat-eat-rat world,” said Hamnpork. “Always has been, always will be.”
    Dangerous Beans wrinkled his nose. “There’s something else. Something…odd. Strange…she’s really scared.”
    â€œIt was in a trap,” said Peaches. “And then it met us.”
    â€œMuch…worse than that,” said Dangerous Beans. “She’s…she’s frightened of us because we’re strange rats, but she smells relieved that we’re not…what she’s used to.”
    â€œHumans!” Darktan spat.
    â€œI…don’t…think…so…”
    â€œOther rats?”
    â€œYes…no. I…don’t…It’s hard to tell.”
    â€œDogs? Cats?”
    â€œNo.” Dangerous Beans stepped back. “Something new.”
    â€œWhat shall we do with it?” said Peaches.
    â€œLet her go, I suppose.”
    â€œWe can’t do that!” said Darktan. “We’ve triggered all the traps we’ve found, but there are still poisons all over the place. I wouldn’t send a mouse out into that. It hasn’t tried to attack us, after all.”
    â€œSo?” said Hamnpork. “What’s another dead keekee ?”
    â€œI know what Darktan means,” said Peaches. “We can’t just send it out to die.”
    Big Savings stepped forward and put a paw around the young female, cuddling it protectively. She glared at Hamnpork. Although she might nip him sometimes if she was annoyed, she wouldn’t argue with him. She was too old to do that. But her look said: All males are stupid, you stupid old rat.
    He looked lost.
    â€œWe’ve killed keekees , haven’t we?” he said. “Why do we want this one hanging around?”
    â€œWe can’t send it out to die,” said Peaches again, looking at Dangerous Beans’ expression.He had that faraway look in his pink eyes.
    â€œYou want it trailing around eating our food and messing things up?” said Hamnpork. “It can’t talk, it can’t think…”
    â€œNor could we, not long ago!” snapped