"Don't get too excited. It's just spaghetti and red sauce," he said. Did children even eat that kind of thing? Did French children? Who knew. Rat scooped pasta into both their bowls and covered it with sauce.

"Remind me to send you a food bill when you're normal sized," Rat said, pushing grated cheese to Marius if he liked. "What with you showing up and eating me out of house and home."