Right up until the time he pounced, Maurice looked like a sleek killing machine.
It all went wrong just before he jumped. His rear rose, it waggled faster and faster from side to side, his tail slashed at the air like a snake, and then he dived forward, claws out-
"Squeak!"
"Okay, here's the deal," said Maurice to the shivering ball in his claws. "You only have to say something. Anything. 'Let me go,' maybe, or even 'Help!' Squeak does not cut the mustard. It's just a noise. Just ask, and I'll let you go. No one can say I'm not highly moral in that respect."
"Squeak!" screamed the mouse.
"Fair enough," said Maurice, and killed it instantly.
Now that's a paragraph I can only dream of writing all by myself. Terry Pratchett, another genius, dragged me into the world of a talking cat and mice, along with an imaginative twist of adventure and scandals in The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents. And instantly I got captured into sharing the fantasy of dear ol' Mr. Pratchett. A simply fantastic read from end to end.
Dancing back and forth under the spinning, yapping Jacko, Darktan waited for his moment . . .
. . . and saw it, and lunged, and bit hard.
Jacko's eyes crossed. A piece of Jacko that was very private and of interest only to Jacko and any lady dogs he might happen to meet was suddenly a little ball of pain.
And this book is classified 'children's literature.' Who wants to grow up, then?
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