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A species which, like cats, is symbiotic with humanity but needs a better PR agency.

Rat characters

Rats of various kinds crop up in the Discworld annals. Named rats and rat-like entities in the Chronicles include:-

• Skrp
• Additives
• Dangerous Beans
• Hamnpork
• Peaches
• Keekees
• Sardines
• Big Savings
• The Number Three Heavy Widdlers Squad
• Darktan
• Mr Pounder
• Mr. Clete
• Kidney
• Inbrine
• Nourishing
• The Trap Disposal Squad
• Spider, a Rat King
• The Death of Rats

Rat, the food

Along with Dwarf Bread, rat meat is a staple of the Dwarf diet. In fact, it's almost the only meat they eat. Dwarfs can become very upset if you try to sneak in chicken or veal, and you don't want to upset a Dwarf who's hungry already. As fast food, rat pie and rat on a stick predominate; set pieces for dinner include Rat Surprise and Quattro Rodenti. Nanny Ogg has tried to provide more palatable alternatives for Humans in her Nanny Ogg's Cookbook, but it's just not the same.

Cats and rats themselves also won't shy away from eating a bit of rat. Except the green wobbly bit.

Rat, the annotation

Is there an inversion here of the themes and ideas of James Clavell's WW2 prisoner-of-war saga, King Rat? Here, men held prisoner by the Japanese and half-starved to death on minimal rations first contemplate the idea of eating rat with horror and nausea. Then they get used to it. Then they start a rat farm in tunnels under the prison, and breed rats for commercial resale of the meat. As the war gets nearer its end, the Allied blockade bites, even the Japanese start to get hungry, forcing them to buy the rat meat from the prisoners via intermediaries (so as not to lose face). After liberation, one of the principal characters finds a diet of chicken and pork and beef is all very well, but he misses rat...

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