THE RAT 



smells nearly as strong, and is really a lot more 

 dangerous, because I know pretty well what a fox 

 is going to do, and how he is going to do it — first 

 creepy-crawly, and then with a bounce and a jump — 

 but you can never be sure of a man. He is always 

 inventing something new. Therefore, whenever I 

 smell the man-smell I am always extra careful, 

 because something is liable to happen. ' Sit quite 

 still for a few minutes,' is the best rule, ' and don't 

 move even the tip of your tail.' Luckily, I have 

 also learnt the smell of iron, which is a great help. 

 I cannot tell you exactly what it smells like : some- 

 thing like cold teeth mixed with jumpy springs. 

 Now do you understand better? Also there is 

 generally the smell of cheese or herring or bacon- 

 rind mixed up with the smells of man and iron. 

 The combination of those three is sure to mean a 

 trap. On the whole, I think that my nose is more 

 useful than dangerous, now that I have thoroughly 

 learnt to obey it when it says ' Go away,' and never 

 to listen to it when it says ' Come along.' 



'Noses cannot talk,' can't they? Yours can. 

 Yours says 'Atishoo,' whatever that means, and 

 your dad's says ' Boowatcher,' which is just as 

 difficult to understand. Mine says ' Stop,' or 

 ' Come on,' and therefore I would much rather 



