What are rats?

Famous quotes containing the word rats:

    Three young rats with black felt hats,
    Three young ducks with white straw flats,
    —Unknown. Three Young Rats (l. 1–2)

    Common hypocrites pass themselves off as doves; political and literary hypocrites pose as eagles. But don’t be fooled by their eagle-like appearance. These are not eagles, but rats or dogs.
    Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904)

    God damn it, father-doctor.
    I’m really thirty-six.
    I see dead rats in the toilet.
    I’m one of the lunatics.
    Anne Sexton (1928–1974)