Pullman Philip. I was a rat!

Borzoj, 1999This is an intelligently written story by Philip Pullman, about a young boy who was once a 'Rat' and part of the fairy-tale of Cinderella's big night out at the ball. He was magically changed into a boy the night of the ball and was suppose to escort Cinderella to the ball and wait by the pumpkin/carriage and pull down the step for Cinderella before midnight struck. However the boy got up to mischief with The Palace page boys, playing football and sneaking around the kitchen. When the other boys got told to go to bed, the young rat/boy was left outside and when he looked for the carriage it had already gone as it was past midnight, Thus this rat/boy missed out on turning back into a full-time rat. He was now left all alone is a strange city, with no name, no manners or any idea how old he was.(Linda McCarry, Goodreads Review)