Uniqua, Austin, Tyrone, and Tasha were staying at a hotel for a vacation with Tasha's Mum (who had kindly invited them). Tyrone was taking a nap on the sofa, Austin was coloring in a picture, and Uniqua was reading a book when suddenly...

"AHHHHH! It-It's a-a-a a mouse! It's a mouse!" screamed Tasha, pointing at a crack between the floorboard and the wall.

Austin looked up from the picture he was coloring in and realized that he had also seen the same mouse earlier. A round fuzzy thing. At first, he had mistaken it for a lollipop that had fallen behind the sofa and collected a pelt of dust fur. Now Austin knew what it really was.

"A mouse? Where?" he asked Tasha, who was now teetering on the arm of the sofa.

"HewentrightoverthereohmygoodnessitsnuckintothekictchenamousetheresamouseinthekitchenTyronedosomething!"

"What?" asked Tyrone, lying on the couch sleepily.

Ta: Tyrone, there's a mouse in the house!
Ty: Let me sleep.
Ta: You're supposed to be my friend!
Ty: Not one peep.
Ta: Well-run hotels don't have mice everywhere! An invasion of rodents is more than I can bear!
Ty: Oh. it's only one and I don't care. Let. Me. Sleep!

Ta: A place for everything and everything in its place. That's the way I try to run my house. There's a place for every spoon and a place for every dish. But there simply are no places for a mouse.
Ty: A nap for every hour and a dream for every nap. I give each the attention it deserves. You know I don't do windows, and you know I don't do mice. So keep it down, you're getting on my nerves.

Ta: There's a mouse in the house!
Ty: Let me sleep!
Ta: You're supposed to be my friend!
Ty: Not one peep.
Ta: You need to help. You have got a job to do!
Ty: It's not in my contract, read paragraph two.
Ta: Tyrone, get up! I am warning you! Catch that mouse or you're in trouble deep!
Ty: Oh, let. Me. Sleep!

"Tyrone, you need to catch that mouse!" said Tasha, who was now running back and fourth in a panic. "I need a mousetrap. No, first I need string. No, wait, I need a cat. I HAVE to get a cat! Wait, I have a cat, sort of." said Tasha, remembering that she had a pet cat at her house that was now unreachable.

Uniqua, Austin, and Tyrone just stared at her for a moment.

"Hey! How about some cheese!" said Uniqua.

"Oh, no thanks. I'm not hunrgy." said Tyrone.

"No, I mean that we can use it to lure the mouse into a cage."

"Great idea!" said Tasha.

"Only one problem," said Austin, "We don't have a cage."

Everyone looked around for a cage (or something that resembled one) to use. There wasn't one. Everyone sighed sadly. It was time to call a professional. Tasha told her mum about the mouse and then she and The Backyardigans went down to the front desk.

Tasha's mum asked the doorman for the service-request book, so she could give their problem to the proper authorities.

"What's the problem?" asked the doorman.

"We've got a mouse." said Tasha's mum.

The doorman's face went pale. He withdrew the book before Tasha's mum could write anything, and then spoke very quietly into his walkie-talkie.

The manager materialized in seconds. He was explained the situation, and he responded in a whisper. The building hadn't had any mice in years, he said. Years. But he'd take care of it. In the meantime -he handed Uniqua a small cage- the four Backyardigans could try to find a way to catch it.

Also, he said -practically passing a hand over everyone's face to complete the Jedi mind trick- They didn't see any mouse.


Author's Note: This fanfic is based on a story by Chris Kaye called "Sic Transit Rodentia". I do not own it or The Backyardigans. Also, the song is from a Garfield episode called "Rodent Rampage", only I changed some of the words around to make it fit in well.

Please review! :)