Mazes, mice and something not so nice

Ever wondered what goes through a lab rats mind? Well here are some thoughts from one particular lab rat.

Squeak, squeak, I hear my fellow friends (well experiments) cry. They are being taken to the big shiny box; the one with the pointy knives and other things you don't want to hear about. Uh oh, that looks like trouble. Very big trouble. I'm glad I'm here safe for the moment in my small cage rather than there with them and the giant masked people. But at the same time, I feel very sorry for them and hope against hope I won't be the next one.

Why you ask? Well the last time a rat was taken to the big shiny box, he did come out but when he did, he wasn't squeaking anymore. All I could see was a pink body with tufts of white fur. Ooh the thought of that makes me shudder.

I look from my cage to where they were about to be devoured and pulverised but then I hear the tapping boom sound of huge feet. It's one of the masked giants. You can't take me, I didn't do anything wrong.

I bet that masked giant could see the look on my face; the fear. Probably come to take me away. Oh well farewell oh good cheese supplied cage. I won't miss you at all spinning wheel. Goodbye, I sniffle sadly.

"Hmm, and what do you think you're doing little fella?" said the scientist in the mask. "I know what you can do, find some cheese like a good lab rat." The scientist picked the rat up from his cage and placed him in a cardboard box maze. "Now you gotta find the cheese OK." He said and at this he gestured his gloved hands pretending it to be a rat looking for cheese.

The scientist chuckled as the lab rat lifted his pointy nose up into the air. When the lab rat did this, the scientist started the stopwatch and walked away to join his colleagues.

Hea hea hea hea hea hea hea I panted. Pheeeeee - eeeeeewwww. That was a close one. I thought I was a goner for sure. Just wait a minute; let me catch my breath. OK I'm fine, I'm fine (at least I think I'm fine).

The lab rat looked around at where the masked giant had put him. Look for the cheese he says, like a good lab rat. He doesn't have to patronise me. Then again at least I'm not in the big shiny box.

OK let's concentrate on the cheese. Yep, yep, the cheese.

In the maze.

Again.

Great…

How does a rat find himself from being in a nice field in the meadows to being in a huge lab with only a cage to call our own, being in constant fear for your life (not to mention being poked and prodded) and to the present; in the maze, looking for the chunky smell of cheese. How did I end up here? It's all a blur really if you think about it. Time to find the cheese. The trick is with this experiment, you try not to go too fast and not to go too slow otherwise the giant masked people will think you are a useless lab rat and probably put you in the shiny big box.

Sniff, sniff. I can smell the nice inviting smell of the cheese. I don't know why the giant masked people think it smells bad. On the contrary, very nice. Although, you'd think they'd come up with something new other than cheese, that is getting old after all.

From a bird's eye view you could see the furry grey rat scurrying at a steady pace. This maze seems bigger than last time I was here thought the lab rat. A couple of minutes had passed by and it could be seen that the lab rat was around halfway through the maze. OK, nothing unusual or out of the ordinary yet. That's good. I just hope it stays that way.

Tap tap, pitter patter went the lab rats tiny clawed feet as it went through the maze searching for the elusive cheese.

A couple of minutes later… sniff, sniff, mmm that smell is getting closer I can almost taste it yum.

As the lab rat walked around the corner, he suddenly stopped. It wasn't a dead end. It was a brown rectangular piece of wood with metal pipe and the cheese. But there was more than one of these strange contraptions, they were all lined up turning to the end just around another bend. Oh so close. How am I going to get through that? So this is what they were up to. Well we'll just see about that. I looked around for something to test the metal-wood thing. Ah Ha, a piece of metal. I grabbed it with my mouth at one end on prodded the metal-wood thing with the other.

SNAP! SNAP SNAP SNAP SNAP SNAP! EEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPP! Now they're all flying about. SNAP Oops I set them all off. SNAP Okay, this is not good. SNAP Look for cover look for cover eep I need to hide. SNAP after the last SNAP had subsided, the lab rat peered cautiously out from the corner he just came from.

The maze looked like the aftermath of a war zone to the lab rat. Pieces of wood, metal and cheese scattered everywhere. Slowly but surely, the lab rat gently crawled through the disaster, trying very hard not to touch anything which would cause more catastrophe.

This is it the lab rat thought just around this corner I'm home free with a big block of cheese. Mmm I can smell it. The lab rat took a deep breath and turned. And to his horror, it wasn't a block of cheese.

It was a mouldy, small piece of rotton tuna!

A/N: So, what did you think? Now that you've read, 'tis time to review.