one day a rat happened upon a large, abandoned egg in a small cave in the forest. the rat kept the egg warm, dry, and clean. for many moons, the rat kept the egg company by sweeping the cave, reading to the egg, and snuggling against it at night. the rat dreamed that the creature within the egg would be a great bird and they would fly around the world together.
when a hungry reptile finally emerged from the egg, the rat was promptly eaten.