Inside a hidden Viking lurks!

The Swedes are known world-wide for their gentle and quiet manners. They are extremely proud of the fact that they have not been in a war since 1808 and Swedish delegates are usually the best peace negotiators for the United Nations. But every now and then you can catch a glimpse of their violent, Viking past.

Around the first of March we began to hear some scampering and pitter-pattering going on in the ceiling downstairs. We thought it might be a squirrel or something who had lost his way. Then we realized there were no squirrels in Sweden, so it must be something else. Mice? No, too big for mice. Then with horror we realized that it must be...cousins of Ratatouille!

Well, Ratatouille is arguably the cutest rat you will find, and he can cook, always a plus. But these rats were not offering to cook anything and it was basically freaking us out to hear what sounded like the Rat Decathlon above us every night. So our landlord had a company called "Nomor" (as in "No more") come out and set some traps for us in the ceiling.

As I was talking to the "rat specialist," he was telling me some of his tricks for disposing of rats.

I asked, "So I will have to dispose of the rats once the traps go off?"

"Yes, it will be okay. If they are still alive just let them hang for awhile and don't go near them. Rats can be really vicious!" (He had attached a small wire to the traps and the metal girders so we could pull them out.)

"Okay," I said with a slight tremor in my voice, "But what if they are wounded and manage to get out of the trap? Or jump out of the ceiling and run toward me?"

In his best Swedish/English accent he energetically said, "Oh, you MUST have a BIG kitchen knife close by!"

"Oh?" I nervously asked, "And if the rats run at me?"

"Ahh!" he said (more energetically), "Then you grab the kitchen knife and just stab like hell!"

Cultural lesson learned: Underneath their soft veneer are mighty Vikings ready to plunder! --MM

[Update: I removed three rats today and reset the traps. Thankfully I didn't have to use my knife!]

Comments

[Mom/MeMe]

Your picture with the knife certainly made this story come to life! Love you, son.
Mom

[Markus]

Pretty brave, Michael.

[Granny and Papa Cooper]

I just pray you kill them all and have no more.. they are gross ... couldn't deal with that .. I'm so glad you've gotten some though already ... hopefully you'll get the whole family before long ..

[Ann]

Thanks for the laugh! I hope you don't need the knife...

[Linda]

and the many new adventures continue ... I hope this unpleasant adventure ends soon!! and that no knives are required. :)

[Aunt Denise]

That is pretty terrifying. I'm not sure I could handle the creatures. Congratulations on catching a few!