The rat saga continues...

The rat saga continues.
We took the snake back to its owner on Friday, and the plan was that the rat would go back to the pet store who have a policy of taking rats back if your snake won't eat them.
Saturday morning we awoke to the excitement of a visit from Sinter klaus(from the Netherlands) who had left little treats in the wooden shoes we had left out the night before.
We also awoke to the news that the rat had gotten out of his cage during the night. It is mornings like this that I can see the advantage of not being able to hear first thing in the morning.
Later that night, just as the kids were all asleep and Chance's dad and I were literally starting a movie, I saw a shadow in the lights of the Christmas tree run behind the tree and go behind the piano.
This is how it came to be that we found ouirselves in Chance's bedroom after chasing the little critter from behind the curio, and in and out of Chance's sister's room.
Rats can jump. Quite high.
They also squeal and try to bite when they get agitated.

Chance slept blissfully on (sans implants), while his dad and I had discussions like,"Where did he go?" and "Look how high he is jumping!"
I half lay half sat on the floor smacking the rats toosh with a yardstick to get him to go in the direction of Chance's dad who had a box ready to trap him.
I imagined how a conversation with my OBGYN would go if I had to call him and tell him that I had been bitten by a rat. In college I had a class which required us to train a rat to press a lever to get water. The outcome of this training was a major part of our grade. After training our rat for several days, I noticed that his nose seemed to be bleeding. The lab assistant said that indicated a problem and we would need to get a new rat. To thank me for my trobules, the rat let out a shrill cry that I will never forget and then he bit me. I ended up having to get a tetnus shot in the student center. After chasing this rat around Chance's bedroom, I am glad to report that I did not feel the disdain that I once did for rats. I seem to have gotten over the trauma of my college days. Though, I resoved that I would not be picking this rat up. Especially as he had attempted to bite Chance's dad already.
I asked Chance's dad at one point if he thought any of our neighbors ever found themselves doing this sort of activity at night after their kids had gone to sleep. He assured me he was certain they did not,

Chance slept totally undisturbed as his dad and I wrestled with the "pet" rat in his bedroom mere feet from his bed. He would have been quite amused to see the event had he been awake.
It all ended well. At least for us. The rat ended up in the shoebox and back into his cage though he gave a good fight to the very end.

This rat will not be a new pet in our house. We don't need this much excitement, our lives are rich enough already.
Hopefully the rat will end up with some snake who will eat him quickly and painlessly and then he can join his past rat buddies in heaven. That way it will have ended well for all involved.