Their spray of whiskers sensed the food long before the smell had time to tickle their nose. Nibbling here and gnawing there, it was never enough to satisfy the hunger that growled inside these three empty bellies scavenging along the barrelled rows. The wine cellar behind Luigi’s Pizza and Pasta restaurant was the welcome relief of a new warm abode. A perfect place to take up residence, respite away from the odious smell of ammonia within the clinical confines of the lab they’d escaped from just in time. Life for these diminutive furry three came as a constant inevitability; relocate or be reduced as another experiment with a lifelong sentence remanded to a wire cage.

 

The contrived action in the life of being a rodent was of a constant pursuit, the hypervigilance still, always being met with the raised head of a rather menacing cat; Mondo, in his daily game with them of ‘peek-a-boo’. However, they were reminded again that it was easier to win the animal race than to dodge a death trap in the human zoo. For each area they inhabited, the presence of new challenges loomed as did the struggle to evade even larger predators, outwitting and manoeuvring in their own relentless compulsion for food.

 

From the switch to being a subject of examination, to now having the prospect of being fed upon, was not a thought the trio wanted to entertain as they nestled together amid the racks of preserved bottles. Like the wine in those bottles, they knew that under optimal conditions they could age and mature quite well too. The thought invited a giddy sense of power for ones so small.

 

Three simple ingredients had been the lure today behind it all; sausage, cheese and bread, how they’d watched the kitchen staff prepare the daily spread.

 

Twitch, Scratch and Radley knew that to move beyond ‘survive’, they desperately needed to get inside. Inside to where a famine would become a feast, to where they would no longer need to store food in the pouch of their cheeks, far away from Mondo and his maddening mayhem. Away from a ritual carried out upon them with a fear of never any reprieve. 

 

Sausage, cheese and bread; the heady aroma that hung in the air to tease their senses of a promise to which they knew each bite would burst forth a rich, savoury flavour, leaving them craving more. 

 

The trio knew what had to be done, that to get past their resident feline guardian, the whiplash of Mondo’s tail and intense prowling eyes, they needed to seize the opportunity for a snatch and grab in the element of a good surprise. With nimble nails and gnashing teeth they had worked hard to uncork the barrels, which sent red rivulets cascading across the cellar floor. Caught off guard by the sudden deluge and its intoxicating smell, Mondo’s usual poise was dissolved into a comical dance of slipping and sliding across the floor.

 

As they watched Mondo being twirled and washed away towards the exit door, the three mice relied on their agile feet to balance atop the floating corks and moved their way towards the kitchen. They skillfully scaled the benches being beckoned by a promise of indulgence, a symphony of such taste to drive them into a state of culinary bliss. Today's race had been so much more than the usual scavenger hunt carried out as a chore. 

 

Finally inside, to where the sausage, cheese and bread was waiting for them to feast upon and gorge. Yes, now inside to where Twitch, Scratch and Radley knew there would never again be any end or shortage of supply. Today's planned raid, their ultimate snatch had resulted in a great score.

 

With full bellies they couldn’t help but share their triumphant, toothy grins. The victory of an insatiable appetite lies not only in great adventure and delicious delights, but in their ability to reclaim one’s place and move beyond just a need to survive. Who would have thought today's challenge: sausage, cheese and bread could have taught such lessons of life: appreciate the bounty when it comes, share generously and always prepare wisely for leaner times.