It takes tiny steps to reach your dream! Meaning that you have to go through a lot of obstacles just to get to the end. Kind of like a race
The writer uses a lot of adjectives that portray the rat as a dirty creature, and by using enumeration with the feelings, he conveys that the character is overwhelmed . Also, the use of similes helps us a visual image of the rat,maki g us feel as though we were there to experience this ourselves.
