Plague of Rats

… Recently a plague of rats seemed to have infested Mllstreet. There was one particular man whose yard was every morning full of dead rodents.  He boasted naturally enough that his cat was one of the best in the country. However, the noble pussy’ s efforts seemed to make no appreciable diminution in the numbers of the unwelcome visitors, and the proud owner was deeply, mortified and alarmed at the state of affairs. Every morning his yard was littered with rat carcases , and though his pride in the cat increased, so did his alarm at this extraordinary invasion of the, rodents. However, an explanation came one morning when, rising earlier than usual, he saw each of his next-door neighbours giving him the benefit of their night’ s rat-catching. His opinion of tho cat has gone down considerably since—and his oninion of the neighbours too alas! “They never speak, ah they pass by!”… – from the Southern Star, January 1902