The Man Who Became a Mouse: Part Three

A largish paw reached over the edge of the curb and pulled him up onto it just as he was about to be washed away.

Looking up at his rescuer, he saw a very large rat creature staring back at him. It winked.

He shivered.

"Uhm....hi?" he said dumbly. He laughed nervously. "Thanks for saving me, err...."
"Name's Peyton," said the creature.
"Pleased to meet you, Peyton," he replied with a gulp.
It grinned. "The pleasure's all mine."

There was an awkward silence. Then he cleared his throat.

"Well...I'd best be off, then. Thanks for the rescue, err--Peyton," he said.
"Naw, don't be silly. A skinny little bloke like you'd get blown away in this storm. I can't let that 'appen, now can I?" it replied. "Anyway, what's your name?"
He sighed. "Gracie," he grumbled.
The creature laughed. "Gracie? A girl's name? Fancy that. I ain't never met a bloke named Gracie before. But that's jus' as well, I 'ave a cousin named Kevin--no one laughs at 'er, 'cause she could wipe the floor with 'em."

Peyton grinned, and started walking, gesturing for Gracie to follow. Gracie hesitated at first, then decided that it would be best to just go along with it, since he hadn't the slightest idea of what was going on, and the rat creature seemed to be nice enough.

So, Gracie followed him into a little hole in a wall.