THE RAT HUNT
The presence of the intruder came to light when I noticed the bright yellow bananas (the happy fruit, as they are called) sporting an impression of a “gnaw”. Judging by the circumference and the general appearance of the nibble (a big one!) I came to the conclusion that its owner was a larger variety of the rodent family-a rat, to be precise. The uninvited guest must have made himself welcome into the house on one of the rare occasions when the kitchen door was left open. Actually the entry was imminent considering the attempts Mr.Rat had made earlier by means of tearing away garbage covers, nibbling at the garbage can etc.
My antennae were on high alert now to devise a means of extermination. The family arrived at a consensus on the rat trap but earlier experience had taught me that Mr.Rat could take us for a royal ride.
The cook suggested the rat poison. The maid warned us in her trademark whiny voice that if rat poison is to be employed, then water, the neutralizer of the poison should not be available anywhere in the vicinity. To which I asked her “What if Mr. Rat decided to open a tap and take a sip?” Ms. Whiny gave me a look as if to say, ” Your education hasn’t taught you the basics. You are pathetic. ”The love and reverence for Lord Ganesha made me weigh my decision once again. I consoled myself with the belief that the white mice are the vahana of the elephant-headed god whereas the brown/black varieties come under the generic name “HOUSE PESTS”.
So reinforced in my conviction was I that I set about shopping for rat poison. I gingerly handled the contents and distributed them around various vantage points around the kitchen, storeroom, the laundry room etc. The Daughter went on about the symptoms of ‘Leptospirosis’ (an infection you contract if you come in contact with the liquid waste of rodents). I also had visions of how I would emerge if affected by Bubonic plague (the cause of Black Death in England). I didn’t fancy myself sporting ratty bumps all over my body.
A day passed. Then on Sunday, when the family was lolling in front of the television, the Daughter strolled into the kitchen for a glass of water and there was a din of vessels! She ran out and both of us gave each other the understanding look as if to say our intruder was in action.
The Hubby was summoned and along with him came trotting the smiley-faced, metallic-teethed youngest member-the Son.
Operation rat catching was about to commence. Armed with a broom and a mop with a rubber base, Hubby started the hunt. The intruder emerged from the storeroom and after a bit of confusion stationed itself behind the large fridge. I charged in and locked the store-room and laundry room and left the door to the outside open all the while taking care to cut off access to the dining area and thereby to the rest of the house.
A little shove and push and the shining of the torchlight behind the fridge made Mr.Rat emerge. His harried state was evident when he leapt from the wall to the top of the mixie-a good two feet distance.
I ran in such haste and my speed propelled me t the top of the dining table. The sporty Daughter displayed her true mettle when she swung up the stairs with a hop, skip and jump.
Speculation was rife as to who would bell the cat, read, catch the rat. Hubby, poor thing, continued to stand vigil armed with mop and broom. The young one just flitted about here and there. “You go!” “No you go!” kept echoing in the dining room. Finally summoning my authority and courage, I pushed the young boy to help his father. (Sometimes being the weaker sex can be a blessing.)
Mr. Rat had taken shelter behind the fridge and despite the din caused, refused to budge. He was cornered. If he emerged, he would have to leave the house. But the dumb thing didn’t see the opportunity. After a clear five minutes of clanging metal, pushing the fridge and shining the torchlight, Mr. Rat finally emerged and ran out. I detected a faint ratty laughter as if to say, “ You eat the rat-poison, I have other things to do.”
The laundry room stank of rat droppings-a successful attempt by Mr. Rat’s body to reject the poison he had ingested.
The next evening, the Maid and Cook listed to the episode and Whiny maid remarked,” If the rat ate the poison and has drunk water afterwards, it will bloat to double its size.”My imagination ran wild. Imagine an enlarged version of Mr. Rat trying to seek revenge…!Oblivious to all the mayhem, Grandfather continued to sleep on….
This is a true story based on an incident that occured a few days back at home.The writer is none other than my mother!!!
My antennae were on high alert now to devise a means of extermination. The family arrived at a consensus on the rat trap but earlier experience had taught me that Mr.Rat could take us for a royal ride.
The cook suggested the rat poison. The maid warned us in her trademark whiny voice that if rat poison is to be employed, then water, the neutralizer of the poison should not be available anywhere in the vicinity. To which I asked her “What if Mr. Rat decided to open a tap and take a sip?” Ms. Whiny gave me a look as if to say, ” Your education hasn’t taught you the basics. You are pathetic. ”The love and reverence for Lord Ganesha made me weigh my decision once again. I consoled myself with the belief that the white mice are the vahana of the elephant-headed god whereas the brown/black varieties come under the generic name “HOUSE PESTS”.
So reinforced in my conviction was I that I set about shopping for rat poison. I gingerly handled the contents and distributed them around various vantage points around the kitchen, storeroom, the laundry room etc. The Daughter went on about the symptoms of ‘Leptospirosis’ (an infection you contract if you come in contact with the liquid waste of rodents). I also had visions of how I would emerge if affected by Bubonic plague (the cause of Black Death in England). I didn’t fancy myself sporting ratty bumps all over my body.
A day passed. Then on Sunday, when the family was lolling in front of the television, the Daughter strolled into the kitchen for a glass of water and there was a din of vessels! She ran out and both of us gave each other the understanding look as if to say our intruder was in action.
The Hubby was summoned and along with him came trotting the smiley-faced, metallic-teethed youngest member-the Son.
Operation rat catching was about to commence. Armed with a broom and a mop with a rubber base, Hubby started the hunt. The intruder emerged from the storeroom and after a bit of confusion stationed itself behind the large fridge. I charged in and locked the store-room and laundry room and left the door to the outside open all the while taking care to cut off access to the dining area and thereby to the rest of the house.
A little shove and push and the shining of the torchlight behind the fridge made Mr.Rat emerge. His harried state was evident when he leapt from the wall to the top of the mixie-a good two feet distance.
I ran in such haste and my speed propelled me t the top of the dining table. The sporty Daughter displayed her true mettle when she swung up the stairs with a hop, skip and jump.
Speculation was rife as to who would bell the cat, read, catch the rat. Hubby, poor thing, continued to stand vigil armed with mop and broom. The young one just flitted about here and there. “You go!” “No you go!” kept echoing in the dining room. Finally summoning my authority and courage, I pushed the young boy to help his father. (Sometimes being the weaker sex can be a blessing.)
Mr. Rat had taken shelter behind the fridge and despite the din caused, refused to budge. He was cornered. If he emerged, he would have to leave the house. But the dumb thing didn’t see the opportunity. After a clear five minutes of clanging metal, pushing the fridge and shining the torchlight, Mr. Rat finally emerged and ran out. I detected a faint ratty laughter as if to say, “ You eat the rat-poison, I have other things to do.”
The laundry room stank of rat droppings-a successful attempt by Mr. Rat’s body to reject the poison he had ingested.
The next evening, the Maid and Cook listed to the episode and Whiny maid remarked,” If the rat ate the poison and has drunk water afterwards, it will bloat to double its size.”My imagination ran wild. Imagine an enlarged version of Mr. Rat trying to seek revenge…!Oblivious to all the mayhem, Grandfather continued to sleep on….
This is a true story based on an incident that occured a few days back at home.The writer is none other than my mother!!!
9 Comments:
after superman its now mickey mouse. what's happening to the blog?
By
Anonymous, at Wed Jul 26, 12:38:00 PM GMT+5:30
House pests are pain!! And sometimes roomies too :P
By
Anonymous, at Wed Jul 26, 09:20:00 PM GMT+5:30
one poor rodent (literally poor, coz it got no money to buy food) ate rat poison... it didn't die... what a miracle... and in grief, mrs pillai writes a long story... that was designed to make us count from 4 to 7 like this: 4 3 2 1 0 9 8 7... and i'm counting...
By
ADTC, at Wed Jul 26, 10:22:00 PM GMT+5:30
yay!! i am still counting i am a fool yay!!
By
Anonymous, at Thu Jul 27, 10:31:00 AM GMT+5:30
hey the last comment was by my friend... playin the fool...
By
ADTC, at Thu Jul 27, 10:49:00 AM GMT+5:30
I didn't understand that bit about counting ADTC..
By
Anonymous, at Thu Jul 27, 04:36:00 PM GMT+5:30
haha was just for a laugh... if u can't laugh, get ur brains checked... they maybe missing...
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just kidding!!!!!!!
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it just pointed out to the way mrs. pillai wrote the story.. instead of a straight forward one that could have been put in just a few sentences, she stretched it to sooo much... soo many paragraphs... so many words from the dictionary... dat's what i meant... dat's wad melodrama is all about... i guess!
By
ADTC, at Sat Jul 29, 04:42:00 PM GMT+5:30
mrs pillai...
hope u didnt take it wrong, but i was actually appreciating ur talent... in fact... i feel like shouting "GIMME UR BRAINS!!"... im that jealous
keep writing more, and share with us too...
arun
By
ADTC, at Tue Aug 22, 08:00:00 PM GMT+5:30
The Daughter swung up the stairs with a hop, skip and jump :D :D
By
Anonymous, at Fri Oct 31, 01:36:00 PM GMT+5:30
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