Researchers have developed VR goggles for laboratory mice to simulate a life of freedom – and let them feel what it’s like to be hunted by a bird.

This is a TRUE STORY! Once upon a time in a cozy little garden, there lived a tiny mouse named Whiskers. Now, Whiskers was a mouse of great imagination and a dash of whimsy. One fine day, while nibbling on a particularly succulent piece of cheese, he heard a fluttering above. Looking up, he saw Gary the Hawk, the most feared predator in the garden, circling overhead.

Whiskers, being the imaginative little mouse he was, had always wanted to experience life from a bird’s-eye view. But today, with Gary on the hunt, that desire rapidly evaporated into a whirlwind of panic. “Oh cheese crumbs!” squeaked Whiskers as he darted to and fro, trying his best to avoid being spotted.

Gary, the majestic yet slightly clueless hawk, swooped down with all the grandeur of a feathered king. “Fear not, little mouse! I come in peace,” he bellowed in a voice that could make even the most valiant mouse quiver.

But Whiskers, being a mouse of unparalleled drama, interpreted the hawk’s words as a grand declaration of pursuit. “Peace? More like a piece of mouse pie!” thought Whiskers, scampering through bushes and darting behind flower pots.

As Gary clumsily flapped his wings in pursuit, trying to convey his genuine lack of interest in a mouse-shaped snack, Whiskers was convinced that he was the star of a high-speed chase sequence in a garden-themed action movie. “This is it! My big break in Hollywood!” he thought, dodging Gary’s swooping attempts with surprising agility.

After an exhausting game of cat-and-mouse (or rather, mouse-and-hawk), Gary finally gave up the chase, landing on a nearby branch with a shrug of his feathery shoulders. “Well, that was unexpected,” muttered the bewildered hawk, trying to comprehend the whirlwind of chaos that just unfolded.

And there, panting and triumphant, sat Whiskers, feeling like the hero of his own thrilling adventure. He may have been the mouse being hunted by a bird, but in his mind, he had just starred in the greatest escape story the garden had ever seen. From that day forward, Whiskers never looked at a piece of cheese the same way again, knowing that behind every morsel lay the potential for an action-packed, albeit slightly exaggerated, tale of bravery and adventure.