One miserable grey fogbound morning, the Shilbottle mouse, while fleeing from the irate husband of the Hampeth Srew, ran slap-bang into the Alnwick Lion who was standing by the gate to a field just outside the village. “You little shite” said the Alnwick Lion as he pinned the mouse to the ground with his paw. “Sorry marra” said the mouse “nay offense like, a did’nt see ya stanin there like, mind thas nay meat on me hobbs and tha say us mice taste like crap anyhou. Worrrr yor the Aneek Lion int yuh, av hord ahl aboot eee, the ahl think yor barrie, and rite gud luken anall. How a just live owa in that field yi nah, cum an av a cuppa tey, nay offense like”. With a laugh the Alnwick Lion lifted his paw and said “Go on Fack Orff!” Some months later, on his long journey home after visiting the wife of the Bolton Vole, the Shilbotle Mouse stopped to rest not far from Abberwick Ford. He was just nodding into forty winks when he heard the sound of a horse and cart approaching. As it passed, the Shilbottle Mouse saw that the cart carried a cage containing the Alnwick Lion and painted on the side of the cart were the words EDINBURGH ZOO. Without thinking the Shilbottle Mouse ran up the branches of a nearby bush, leapt onto the cart, climbed up the cage and chewed through its bindings, freeing the Lion. After the Alnwick Lion had devoured the driver and a sizable portion of the horse, he thanked the Shilbottle Mouse for saving his life and walked off in the direction of his den. When the Mouse got back to Shilbottle a few days later, he found an eviction order pinned to his front door as a new development of luxury houses was planed for the field.