This is a short story I wrote about two playful rats. It was inspired by the rat dissection I did today in science, when my friend and I found two baby rats in a female rat. In the story, you will notice the two main characters do not have a dad, and this is because my friend and I dissected their mother, and found them inside their mother. They were all together, except for the dad (whoever that was), so I decided that in the fiction story I wrote, there would not be a rat dad. You will also notice boldface sentences. These sentences are nonfiction fun facts I incorporated into my story. When my friend and I dissected the mother rat, we named the two rats Bella and Sky. I like to believe that this is what they would’ve become if only they’d been born.
“Bella! Wait up!” Sky yelled as he chased Bella across a fence. The twin rats were always going on adventures and sometimes made mischief.
“Hurry up, Sky!” Bella yelled back over her shoulder.
“I’m going as fast as I can!” Sky panted back.
“Fine,” Bella sighed and skidded to a stop. Sky went flying into her and knocked her off the fence.
“Bella!” Sky screamed as his sister dropped onto grass below. Bella landed on her feet, but them immediately dropped to her side.
“Ow,” she whispered. “My leg.” Sky carefully made his way to Bella.
“Are you okay?” Sky gasped.
“No,” Bella snapped. “I think you’ve broken my leg.”
“I broke your leg?” Sky cried. “It isn’t my fault!” Bella and Sky argued for a few minutes before Sky finally shouted, “Let’s just stop! You need help, so let me go home and get mom. I’ll bring you some entertainment for while I’m gone.” Sky set out looking for any leaves or small pebbles before Bella could argue. He brought back a few of each and did his best to make Bella comfortable.
Fun Fact: Rats will take care of any injured or sick rats in their group.
“Just go get Mom,” Bella said and set her head on a leaf.
“Okay, Bella,” Sky answered quietly. “It’ll be okay.” The truth was, though, Sky wasn’t sure if anything was going to be okay ever again.
As Sky was racing home to get help, Bella was in the grass, feeling a sinking feeling in her stomach. She was finally settling down into a nap when a loud banging noise awoke her completely. A human walked out onto the lawn. Bella stayed still, willing with all her might for the human to go away. But the little girl in the princess dress-up outfit didn’t go away. In fact, she began walking closer and closer to Bella. Bella tried her best to inch away.
Fun Fact: Rats prefer to run away from threats than fight or confront them.
The little girl spotted Bella.
“Mommy! Daddy! It’s a mouse!” the little girl yelled. How insulting, Bella thought. A woman walked out of the house and stared down at Bella.
“That’s a rat,” the woman spat.
“Can I keep the mouse?” the little girl asked.
“Rat,” the woman corrected.
“Please?” the girl pleaded. The woman thought for a moment.
“Okay,” the woman started slowly.
“YES!” the little girl squealed.
“But only if you agree to take care of it all by yourself and do everything I tell you to, including cleaning your room and eating your vegetables,” the woman finished.
“Okay,” the little girl agreed and ran inside. She came out a minute later with a box.
Meanwhile, Sky was racing across the fence. I’m fast enough to keep up with Bella now, Sky thought. He quickly navigated his mom across multiple fences.
Fun Fact: Rats can remember navigation routes because of their great memories.
As Sky ran across fence after fence, he gave his tail a silent, thank you. Without it, he would surely have fallen off the fence by now.
Fun Fact: Rats’s tails help them to balance.
When Sky and his mom finally arrived at the yard, Bella was gone.
“Bella? BELLA!” they called, but no matter how many times they called, they never got a call or shout back.
For a week, Sky and his mom searched for Bella. They took the same route Bella and Sky had took on that one day of disaster. They searched on and off fences. They took new routes. They did everything they could, but no matter how much they searched, they couldn’t find Bella.
Fun Fact: Rats are known for their ambition and determination.
Then, one day, that all changed. Sky was out by the yard Bella had fallen into when he saw a little girl carrying a box. He heard squealing coming from inside the box. Sky knew it had to be Bella.
“Do you want to peek out, Princess?” Sky heard the little girl say. The little girl opened the box the slightest bit, and Sky could see Bella’s whiskers. Sky quickly devised a plan. He slid down the fence and ran in front of the little girl.
Fun Fact: Rats are known for their intelligence.
The little girl set down the box.
“Another mouse!” she cried. Sky scampered around a few times. Then he hurried over to the box and knocked it over on its side.
“Hey! Be nice, Mousey!” the little girl yelled. The top of the box (now the side) opened, and Bella scampered out.
“Bella! Try to run!” Sky cried. To his surprise, Bella took off running and was on top of the fence within seconds. Soon, Sky joined her and the two of them dashed off to find their mom.
“NO FAIR!” they heard the little girl screaming in the distance.
Soon enough, Bella and Sky were at home with their mom, and Bella was explaining how the little girl convinced her parents to take her to a sort of vet, and her leg was checked out. It turned out, all she needed was some rest.
“Have you learned your lesson now?” their mom asked.
“Yes, Mom,” Bella answered, and Sky finished, “But first, let’s go play.” The two rats raced each other across a fence, with Bella in the lead.
Credits to…
•onekindplanet.org
Sweet Peas Flowers and Bees 
Thank you for your feedback!
I liked this short story and the facts about rats. This was very well-written and the way you incorporated facts was very clever, and the facts were placed well in the story.