The Christmas Rat (10 page)

I went to the curb. Soon as I reached it I flipped the stocking over, shaking it.

The rat tumbled out.

For a moment, he just lay there in the gutter, as if dazed. Then he lifted his head and shook himself. Without even looking back at me, he scurried off.

Only when he had gone did I notice that a couple of things had fallen out with him.

One was a card of Anje's. On the back was written:

The other thing was the small white flashlight.

And later I was amazed again.

As we were walking to our Christmas dinner at the Willobys', my mother took my hand and squeezed it. “Thank you so much,” she said softly.

“You mean for your present?” I said.

“That was nice. No, for the angel on the top of the tree. Eric, that was so sweet of you to fix it. It looks as good as it ever did.”

When we got home I went into the living room and looked up at the angel on the treetop. It was fixed, all right. Without the wings or robes, of course, our angel looked a little like Anje.

I laughed. It was Christmas day and I was alive—as I'd never been alive before. Felt great.

As for the flashlight, I've still got it. Sits on my bureau. Every once in a while—if I start feeling bored—it glows.

G
abriel is one of two angels named in the Bible. His name comes from the Hebrew, and, variously translated, means “the mighty one.” He is also known as the “Prince of Fire.” He is the angel of annunciation, mercy, vengeance, death, revelation, and resurrection.

In Jewish mythology Gabriel is connected to Adam's creation. It is also said he brought a glowing stone to Abraham for protection, the glow being the preserved light of the Garden of Eden, a source of wisdom and a shield.

In the New Testament it is Gabriel who announces the birth of Jesus to Mary. In this context he has a major association with Christmas. And it is Gabriel who will sound the trumpet for the Final Judgment.

In Islam, it's Gabriel who dictates the Koran to Muhammad. Muslims venerate him as a spirit of truth.

In
The Christmas Rat
I've taken bits and pieces from all these traditions.

As for Anje's phone number, it's in code. See if you can figure it out.

—Avi

S
OME OTHER BOOKS BY
A
VI

The Barn

Beyond the Western Sea

Blue Heron

The Man Who Was Poe

Midnight Magic

Nothing but the Truth

A Place Called Ugly

Something Upstairs

Sometimes I Think I Hear My Name

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

What Do Fish Have to Do With Anything?

Who Was That Masked Man, Anyway?

Wolf Rider

Atheneum Books for Young Readers

An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division

1230 Avenue of the Americas

New York, New York 10020

www.SimonandSchuster.com

Copyright © 2000 by Avi

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

Book design by Ann Bobco

Jacket illustration copyright © 2000 by Leonid Gore

Jacket design by Ann Bobco

The text of this book is set in Adobe Caslon.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Avi, 1937-

The Christmas rat / Avi.

p. cm.

Summary: Alone in his apartment during Christmas vacation, eleven-year-old Eric finds himself caught in a battle between a strange exterminator and the rat he wants to kill.

ISBN 0-689-83842-5

ISBN 978-1-4814-4534-4 (eBook)

[1. Rats—Fiction. 2. Pests—Control—Fiction. 3. Apartment houses—Fiction. 4. Christmas—Fiction. 5. Angels—Fiction.] I. Title.

PZ7.A953 Ch 2000

[Fic]—dc21 99-87429