Jazbury crouched down in the shadow of the buckets. He crouched there for a long time without moving, and with his eyes fixed patiently on the hole. Aunt Tabby would have been pleased and surprised if she could have seen how still he kept.
After a while, however, he began to feel discouraged. He wondered whether there were any mouse there after all. Maybe Aunt Tabby was right, and he should have watched in the cupboard.
Just as he was thinking this he heard a scratching, brushing sound inside the hole, and a grey head with a pointed nose and two gleaming round black eyes appeared at the mouth of the hole.
Jazbury quivered all over as he crouched still lower and made ready to leap upon the mouse. Then suddenly he stiffened and stared with big eyes. Surely no mouse had ever had such a big head as that. After the head followed a great fat body, and a long, long, LONG tail. The mouse was not a mouse at all, but a huge grey rat.
Jazbury was terrified. His tail grew big and every separate hair stood on end.
The rat looked at him with a wicked grin. "Ho, ho! So you thought you'd catch me, did you?" cried the rat. "I knew you were there. I heard you and I smelled you. You thought you'd catch me, did you? Well, here I am! Now let's see you catch me."
The rat sidled over toward Jazbury, and just as fast as he sidled over Jazbury backed away. He tried to spit and growl, but he was too frightened.
The rat looked at him with a wicked grin
"Thought you'd catch me! Maybe I'll catch you. I like little kittens for supper. Like 'em as much as cheese."