The Adventures of Richard Rat: Richard Comes of Age

By Owen Cochrane

Richard Rat, a young orphan rat, is sentenced to Prudence Prison for the crimes of breaking and entering, and drinking stolen goods.

But Richards stay in prison proves short-lived.

He escapes for the simple reason that he is a ratoholic and desperately needs a drink!

Drifting aimlessly, Richard ends up squatting in the ceiling of a building, which, as fate would have it, turns out to be a private rats school. From his hole in the ceiling, Richard begins to take notes and soon becomes the schoolmaster Mr Potts most diligent student.

When Potts English School closes down, Richard moves into City Library and continues to educate himself. Yet out in the big, wide world, the philosophical Mr Rat is repeatedly put on the back foot in the school of hard knocks.

Determined not to be defeated by his circumstances, a stronger and wiser rat emerges.

Richard Rat accidentally grew out of another book I was writing says the author. I was writing this book about a boy who received a series of rather wacky comics for his birthday, called, The Adventures of Richard Rat. When I began to describe the comics, Richard quickly stood up and insisted he become a character in his own right!

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: May 22, 2009
• ISBN: 9781467005142

Owen Cochrane

Owen Cochrane was born in Hamilton, New Zealand. He attended schools in Rotorua and Hamilton, and graduated from Waikato University with a bachelors degree in education. After teaching primary school for many years and working at a variety of occupations, he moved to South Korea to work as an English teacher in a Gwangju Academy. While in Korea, he began writing several books including, The Adventures of Richard Rat: Richard Comes of Age.

Book preview

Chapter One

The Great Escape

Richard sat at the dining table, listening with both ears open, as two members of the Night Police chatted nearby. Funnily enough, it was a conversation about baked beans.

Having finished his potato, Rats (as Richard was commonly known, inside) made his move. He whisked over to where Ratty and Spud sat on a long wooden table, nibbling away at their potatoes.

It’s time! whispered Richard.

Right! said Ratty. Let the commotion begin!

Rats crept over to the side of the room and hid in the shadows, while Ratty and Spud began a heated argument over a potato.

It’s mine! yelled Ratty.

No, it’s not! It’s mine! screeched Spud. You ate yours!

I did not! yelped Ratty.

That’s about as much as Rats heard, for as soon as the Night Police moved in, he was on his way. He swished down the dark shadows of the passageway and slipped through the door.

There was no stopping him now. Before you could say Cecil! he flew over the yard, breathing in the crisp air. Bright stars glittered overhead.

The rest was all plain sailing; he had three tunnels to choose from and it was just a matter of which one he preferred.

It may sound like it was a daring thing to escape from Prudence Prison. But this simply wasn’t the case. It was a piece of cake!

No one escaped for the simple reason that they didn’t want to leave. Let’s face it, they had it cushy. There was tucker supplied, a roof over their heads, hay to sleep in, company galore, and the Day and Night Police were nothing but a joke.

Richard was really no different from all the other rats. He too enjoyed being inside, because he liked the company and the steady supply of food. But he was escaping for a very simple reason: Rats was a ratoholic.

So, what’s a ratoholic? you may well ask.

It’s a rat who’s addicted to alcohol. Rats had a drinking problem, but he hadn’t always been that way. In most things in life, chance plays a major role. Sometimes you’re lucky and sometimes you’re not, and, in this instance, Rats had been very unlucky. He’d never really craved anything – not even cheese and crackers – until one night something happened that changed all that.

He’d been squatting in the attic at the Squires Mansion when a fight broke out between Jack Squires and his wife, Martha. The fight was over Martha’s pet dog, Strudooles. But that’s not important to the story; I just thought I’d mention it. What was important was that, at some point, Jack Squires picked up a bottle of whisky and threw it at his wife (which seems a pretty terrible thing to do) but fortunately missed. The bottle hit the floor and broke, which explains why there were pools of whisky left all over the floor that neither of them had bothered to mop up.

Later on, in the sleepy hours of the night, Rats slipped downstairs to investigate, found this huge puddle on the floor, and, thinking it was water, began to lap it all up.

Now, I need to be honest here. Rats was far from being stupid, and he soon knew that it wasn’t water. But he was rather thirsty that night, which resulted in him drinking more than he usually would have. Initially, he didn’t like the taste that much. I must also add that, at this time, Richard was a very young nook and was prone to doing things by instinct.

Not long after, as Rats was exploring the kitchen in search of something tasty, he began to feel this warm buzz inside his head and wondered what it was. Being a nook who could be a little smart at times, he put two and two together and worked it out that this buzz in his head was coming from the drink.

So what did he do next? Because he enjoyed the buzz so much, he went back for more, and now the rest is history! That’s how Richard became a ratoholic.

The end result of all this was that Rats became professional at identifying the whisky bottle, which, unfortunately, turned him into a criminal. When I say criminal, I don’t mean that Richard was one of those thug types who go around doing horrible things to others. Richard was nothing of the sort! He became a petty criminal, because it was just a matter of needing a drink.

Rats began to target liquor outlets. Although he was smart, he was always left with an over-riding problem: to get to the whisky, he had to smash the bottle because he still didn’t know how else to open it. That didn’t only mean noise; it meant a loud noise, which really isn’t compatible with criminal activity like burglary. Eventually it led to Richard being caught.

I won’t go into all the ins and outs of how he was caught, because I don’t have time. But the end result was that he WAS caught and hauled before Judge Springfield, who promptly asked, How do you plead?

Guilty, Your Honour, answered Richard.

Why did you do it? asked Springfield.

I needed a drink, Your Honour.

Why didn’t you just drink water?

I—I’m a ratoholic, Your Honour!

So am I! said Judge Springfield. But it doesn’t give me the right to enter other rats’ premises and steal their whisky, does it, now?

No, Your Honour, squeaked Richard.

I understand your plight, somewhat, Mr Rat… being a drinker myself. And I am taking it into account that this is your first offence. But, having all the facts in front of me, I must judge according to the law. Now the facts are… Let me see… On 23 March at either at 11.47 or 11.48 p.m., depending on whether you go by Officer Rat’s watch or Officer Nagger’s, you illegally entered the premises of Galvin and Sons and smashed two whisky bottles worth a total value of $188.25. I can’t allow you to get away with this. If I did, I’d be out of a job, have no purpose, suffer a loss of self-esteem, and probably become a wanderer and vagabond like yourself. Did you think about that, Mr Rat?

No, Your Honour.

"Well, you should have! I hereby sentence you to three months detention in Prudence Minimum Security Prison for the crimes of breaking and entering, and drinking stolen goods. Your term takes effect immediately, after which, you will be free to come and have a drink with me!"

Thank you, Your Honour, said Richard.

The problem for Rats was that he couldn’t wait that long for a drink. And that’s why he was getting out – now!

Chapter Two

Big Black Dog

Richard was walking down a street one day when he happened to look up at the street sign. He could barely believe it; there on the sign was his name, Richard.

At this stage of his life, he couldn’t read very well. But he had learnt to read a few words from the brief time he’d been in prison, and Richard was the first word the officers had taught him.

Because his name was Richard, he felt that it must be a sign indicating that this was where he belonged.

On Richard Street, there was a café named Big Black Dog, which Richard could read because he could read colours and knew the words big and dog.

Now in that café was a big, black dog, and this big, black dog was soon to become Richard’s worst nightmare!

When Richard moved upstairs to the loft that day, he didn’t think for one moment that there would be a real big, black dog in there.

On his first night there, Richard met this big, black dog, and this is what followed.

Late that night, well after closing time, he’d gone downstairs to look for a drink because at this time he was still a ratoholic. To his utter delight he’d spied a whisky bottle upside down above the counter with a little tap on it. Richard found that by pushing the tap, the whisky would gush out onto the bench, which meant he didn’t have to break any bottles and arouse any suspicion.

Richard lapped up all the spilt whisky and then went scavenging in the food bin. To his further delight, there were chicken scraps, leftover salads, and potatoes. In short, his dream had come true.

A little later, Richard was feeling pretty euphoric. But the problem was, he’d eaten such a good meal and had drunk such a lot of whisky that he ended up falling asleep on the kitchen floor.

Richard fell into a deep sleep and dreamt that he’d gone to sleep on the floor in Big Black Dog and been woken up by a huge, black dog standing over him.

Perhaps you could call him psychic or something like that because that’s exactly what happened! Richard woke up to find himself face to face with a big, black dog whose mouth was big, pink, and open!

Richard ran as fast as his little shaky legs could carry him. Luckily, there was a window open far enough for him to squeeze through and too small for a big, black dog to jump through.

It was a close call.

Chapter Three

Animal Park Zoo

Often when we meet others for the first time, they seem strange. I guess that’s why we call them strangers. Yet, after a while, they become familiar. Before long, those very ones we thought peculiar sometimes end up becoming our close friends.

This is exactly what happened to Richard Rat, who became friends with three of the most unlikely characters –two giraffes and a hippopotamus! I’d better tell you exactly how this happened.

Not long after Richard’s rapid departure from Richard Street, he took up residence in a rather tall building which he wrongly identified as a warehouse. Rats couldn’t have been more wrong! He was actually in a zoo – specifically, in the house of the giraffes. It was something that you might’ve expected Rats to have known, but he didn’t know, for the very simple reason that he’d never seen a giraffe before and had no idea they existed. Therefore, when he spied this mighty high building, with its huge doors open and beckoning, it seemed like an ideal place to sleep.

The zoo was on the edge of a forest, which was a scary place to be in at night. It was teeming with wild and dangerous animals, and Richard, being a gentle creature, spent the night scared out of his wits by strange, hooting noises. In the end, he wasn’t sure what was worse: spending the night in the forest or confronting a big, black dog. It was Richard’s scariest night to date, even scarier than the night he was arrested on the premises of Galvin and Sons after having gulped down all that whisky.

So, when morning came and with it appeared this tall, high building, Richard felt relieved.

He’d found a hole under the fence, so getting in was easy. The doors were wide open, so he just walked straight in. And when he saw the hay was tailor-made for sleeping, he lay himself down and fell fast asleep.

This was to become Richard’s home over the next few months – a home he shared with two giraffes. But at the time, Richard didn’t know about giraffes. Even during his first week there, he didn’t know of their existence. It does seem strange to think that they were there all the time, and yet Richard never saw them. How he missed them, I’ll never know! He did think the room was somewhat smelly, and he did see some skinny trees that seemed an odd colour.

During the day, he’d go out on adventures, and he soon found out that he was in a zoo. He’d come back at night, curl up on the hay, and fall asleep. This went on for a whole week, and all the while these two giraffes were in the room observing his every move.

They didn’t like him at first because he was an intruder. They made rude comments about him to each other, whispering things like, The Scavenger’s back!

No doubt, you’re wondering how they met, so I’ll just come straight to the point. Halfway up the wall was this huge trough, and Rats had no idea what it was doing there. He was a smart nook, but at the time he was still a little young and rustic and had little experience in the world. Therefore, he couldn’t always work everything out in his head like an older mule would; he didn’t yet know that everything in life was logical.

One day he climbed up the wall to see if there was any water in the trough. To his delight, he found not only fresh water but some food up there, though it seemed a strange place to find food.

He sipped away at the water and was just about to start nibbling on a fresh, green cabbage when suddenly this huge head appeared beside him that was like nothing else he’d ever seen before.

Who are you? asked the head.

Richard was shocked out of his skin, but he just said calmly, I’m Richard.

Richard who? said another voice, as another giant head appeared on the other side of him.

Rat! said Richard. Richard Rat!

It’s nice to meet you! said the second big head. I’m Skylark, and this is Sybil.

Nice to meet you, too! said Richard. He couldn’t believe how casual he was.

Can you imagine how Richard must have felt when he saw those two giraffes for the first time? Years later, he was to look back at that moment and wonder why he wasn’t terrified out of his skin. But, when he thought about it, he felt there was something in their voices and in their manner that wasn’t threatening, and that’s what had made him feel so at ease.

Nevertheless, it was a shock to see these two huge creatures that looked like something out of a fantasy movie (not that Richard had ever seen one).

At first, Richard thought they must have been standing on a nearby shelf. But when he looked down, he realized they were standing on the floor. He could see that their legs were incredibly long, and their necks seemed even longer.

We’ve been watching you for some time, said Sybil.

Have you? asked Richard.

Yes, said Skylark. Did you realize that you were sleeping in our house?

No, said Richard. I didn’t know! I’m sorry about that. I will go,

Er… no. You don’t have to! said Skylark.

Really? said Richard.

Yes, said Sybil. We’ve kind of got used to having you around.

Have you? asked Richard.

"Yes. We’ve been watching you for over a week now, and