Discworld 28 - The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by Pratchett Terry

Author:Pratchett, Terry [Terry, Pratchett,]
Format: epub, mobi, azw3
Publisher: Acrobat Distiller 7.0.5 (Windows)
Published: 2010-06-21T04:00:00+00:00

Dangerous Beans sighed. 'One rat can be brave, but a bunch of rats is just a mob?' he said. 'Are you right, Maurice?' 'No, I was… look, there was something back there,' said Maurice. 'It's in a cellar. I don't know what it is. It's the voice that gets into people's heads!' 'Not everyone,' said Peaches. 'It didn't frighten you, did it? Or us. Or Darktan. It made Hamnpork very angry. Why?' Maurice blinked. He could hear the voice in his head again. It was very faint, and it certainly wasn't his own thoughts, and it said I will find a way in, CAT! 'Did you hear that?' he said. 'I didn't hear anything,' said Peaches. Perhaps you have to be close, Maurice thought. Perhaps, if you've been close, it knows where your head lives. He'd never seen a rat so miserable as Dangerous Beans. The little rat was huddled by the candle, staring unseeing at Mr Bunnsy Has An Adventure. 'I hoped it would be better than this,' said Dangerous Beans. 'But it turns out we're just… rats. As soon as there's trouble, we're just… rats.' It was very unusual for Maurice to feel sympathetic to anyone who wasn't Maurice. In a cat, that is a major character flaw. I must be ill, he thought. 'If it's any help, I'm just a cat,' he said. 'Oh, but you are not. You are kind and, deep down, I sense that you have a generous nature,' said Dangerous Beans. Maurice tried not to look at Peaches. Oh boy, he thought. 'At least you ask people before you eat them,' said Peaches. You'd better tell them, said Maurice's thoughts. Go on, tell them. You'd feel better. Maurice tried to tell his thoughts to shut up. What a time to get a conscience! What good was a cat with a conscience? A cat with a conscience was a… a hamster, or something… 'Um, I've been meaning to talk to you about that,' he muttered. Go on, tell them, said his shiny new conscience. Get it out in the open. 'Yes?' said Peaches. Maurice squirmed. 'Well, you know I do always check my food these days…' 'Yes, and it does you great credit,' said Dangerous Beans. Now Maurice felt even worse. 'Well, you know how we've always wondered how come I got Changed even though I never ate any of that magical stuff on the dump…' 'Yes,' said Peaches. 'That has always puzzled me.' Maurice shifted uneasily. 'Well, you know… er… did you ever know a rat, quite big, one ear missing, bit of white fur on one side, couldn't run too fast 'cos of a bad leg?' 'That sounds like Additives,' said Peaches. 'Oh, yes,' said Dangerous Beans. 'He disappeared before we met you, Maurice. A good rat. Had a bit of a speech… difficulty.' 'Speech difficulty,' said Maurice, gloomily. 'He stammered,' said Peaches, giving Maurice a long, cool stare. 'Couldn't get his words out very easily.' 'Not very easily,' said Maurice, his voice now quite hollow.

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