A mouse at a zoo in eastern China was supposed to be a snake’s dinner, but was freed by zoo officials after he informed the snake that he had no plans to go quietly. While the snake was eating another mouse — let’s call that mouse Dinner Mouse —  that had been unceremoniously dropped into its cage for its evening meal, this guy — who we’ll call Brave Alive Mouse — jumped on the snake’s head and started to bite him. This was undoubtedly a combination of survival instinct, having a tiny mouse brain, and maybe rabies, but we’re choosing to interpret it as a desperate, heroic attempt to save his friend.

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Brave Alive Mouse was not able to rescue Dinner Mouse, but he did capture the attention of zoo officials who decided that this was a mouse who deserved to live, and set him free. So. A happy ending for Brave Alive Mouse. Sadly the snake, despite having a few bite marks on his head, has no memory of what happened and is probably eating another pair of mice right now.

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