In the novel „Papucii lui Mahmud” (Mahmud’s shoes), Gala Galaction (I wrote a detailed article here »), at some point, speaks about a monk who lives in a place alongside rats. I think it’s safe to say that the author (pr. Grigore Pișculescu) considered the repulsion we generally have for rats to be debatable.
In real life, people tend not to like rats for two main reasons: they carry diseases, and they bring damage.
Still, rabbits are seen as cute & nice; foxes have a better view, etc.
There’s more to not liking rats than mere economic reasons, health & hygiene.
I think Gala Galaction tries to signal that this disgust is misplaced. We have reasons to prefer squirrels to rats, but this logic might be wrong.
