What do you think the “rat” was? Read below pls...

Question

Three Little Kittens (since the poem is kind of long, so I get just the important part of it...)

"Oh mother dear, we greatly fear 

That we have soiled our mittens."

"What! soiled you mittens, you naughty kittens!"

Then they began to cry, "Meeow, meeow, meeow"

Then they began to sigh.

The three little kittens they washed their mittens

And hung them out to dry,

"Oh mother dear, do you not hear

That we have washed our mittens."

"What! washed your mittens, you are good kittens."

But I smell a rat close by, 

"Meeow, meeow, meeow" we smell a rat close by...

Words of the Three Little Kittens Nursery Rhyme

A cautionary tale

with words directed toward to a mother and child and the common occurrence of losing an article, then finding it and finally being rewarded! The word "meeow" shows effective use of onomatopoeia where a word sounds like the action. The mother cat was correct in her view that she could "smell a rat!" This Nursery Rhyme first appeared in the" Only True Mother Goose Melodies" in 1843.

Answer 1

This nursery poem incorporates many a topic in parenting. Let's not delve into all of them here, but for the notion of 'smelling a rat'. Mother Cat is a caring mom, who gives validation to her kittens whenever they need it, and reprimand whenever they do something naughty (although the naughty action here was induced, no pie needs the eater to use mittens) Anyways. Once the mother notices that her kittens are doing well, the rat she smells could be one of three:

1. a real rat.
2. one of her kittens incorporates 'unethical' behavior, or maybe all of them, so the 'meeaouw' sounded was not very sincere.
3. her preparation of her kittens for the future might be of certain characteristics that she is afraid for them, to be on their own, or not be strong enough to encounter life's challenges.

Hope this give you an idea on what the rat means here.

Answer 2

The phrase "I smell a rat" means I suspect that there is deception here, or that something is not as it seems. The mother cat may be referring to one of her own kittens or to a personality not mentioned in the poem.