Close encounter of the ratty kind

We parked the car on a beautiful afternoon in the countryside. The family decided to go for a walk; all the way up the narrow lane, leading to a village about half a mile away. I stayed in the car and listened to the radio.

As I sat in the driving seat I noticed ahead of me, some two yards away, something moving amongst the bushes. I switched off the radio and concentrated. It happened again. It moved a few inches to the left, then ran into the bushes again. It was a rat. At first I thought it was a squirrel maybe, but it was a rat all right. It came our again. Ran left and right. But stood still for long enough for me to identify him as a rat. 

I panicked. I quickly shut all the car windows and made sure all the doors were locked.

I lowered myself down in the seat so he would not see me.

I read somewhere that rats can be dangerous if they attack you. I could not drive away of course because I was waiting for my family to return from their walk. 

I had to either frighten the rat away or attack him. I searched the car for something I could use as a weapon.

I found a bra.

Let us not debate what a bra was doing in the car. I could use it as a sling shot or catapult. If David had this bra in the Bible he could have killed two Goliaths simultaneously.

Problem is, I did not have any pebbles or stones in the car. I could use the bra to hit the rat with if he attacked I suppose. 

I had read somewhere that rats can travel hundreds of miles. Apparently they hang to the underside of cars and as you drive away you inadvertently take them to your home.

I raised myself a little in my seat to keep an eye on the ninja rodent in case he jumped and hid under our car.

Eventually the family returned from their walk.

I hid the bra in the glove compartment and asked them to stamp their feet loudly before they entered the car quickly. I thought the noise would frighten the rat away.

They asked me why I asked them to stamp their feet. I told them it was a new game I'd invented. They thought it was stupid.

I drove away fast and every so often, when it was safe, I hit the brakes suddenly to dislodge any rats hanging on the underside of the vehicle. I looked in the rear view mirror to see if any rats fell off but there was nothing.

The family was not amused by my driving and thought I was a jerk. 

We got home safely. When they were in the house, I bent right down on the ground searching for any rats hanging on to the underside of the car. There were none.

I took the car to the garage and asked the mechanic to put it on a ramp and get underneath. "Can you hear a rat?" I asked.

"Hear a rat?" he asked, "surely you mean can you smell a rat?"

"Oh yes ... I meant can you hear a rat a ta tatt, rat a ta tatt ... when the engine is running," I said sheepishly.

He checked the car thoroughly and found nothing.

Maybe no rat managed to jump onto the car, or perhaps he fell when I hit the brakes.

What do you think?