BERNARD INTO BATTLE

Miss Bianca has retired, but her faithful deputy Bernard, Secretary of the Mouse Prisoners' Aid Society, carries on the tradition, forestalling an invasion of the Embassy by dirty rats (a workman left a manhole cover open!). Bernard, wearing a false-teeth disguise, sneaks behind enemy lines; Khalil the snake guards the opening until nibbled from below; and Miss B puts in a few timely appearances and writes the letter which brings the workman back to flip the lid. As always, the plot line is thin as a whisker, but Sharp embellishes the miniature scene with as much artful detail as the story can bear (at one point, the mice immobilize the rats with a fragrant Gorgonzola), which should give her minions just enough to munch on.