Mouse wanted to know more about Pavlova and waited to catch Harvey on his own. “So, when are we going to meet your girlfriend then?” she asked, trying to be casual.
“I don’t know” Harvey shrugged his shoulders.
“Are you sure she is your girlfriend?”
“Of course she is!” was his angry reply.
“So why don’t you introduce her to us then? Are you embarrassed?”
“Why should I be?”
“C’mon, we saw you guys yesterday… She is a rat!” Mouse pointed out.
Now Harvey exploded: “So what! She is very special!”
Then it all poured out of him. She is from a long line of sewer rats, but she wanted to educate herself. She put herself through school despite the total lack of family support. They didn’t understand why she wanted to go through all the trouble, as there was enough food down there in the sewers. They all said they were born to be sewer rats and there is absolutely no need to study. But Pavlova didn’t want to sit out on the ledge of a pillar and watch the water drip down the pipes all day. She had the strong feeling there was more to life than that. She worked very hard to get where she is now. And it did pay off. She is now a research assistant and works in a lab. He, Harvey, thinks she has done really, really well indeed, and is terribly proud of her.
Mouse became more and more embarrassed while Harvey was telling her the story, but at the same time she was very intrigued and proud that, once again, it was her who had the hottest news first.
dedepuppets 
That Mouse really enjoys provoking a response! I wonder if she feels any “rodent kinship” to Pavlova?
I thought as well, that was a bit rich from Mouse to point out that Pavlova is a rat…