Given the way Austin prides itself on divisions -- North/South, East/West, environmentalist/developer -- you wouldn't figure it to have a place where the lion lies down with the lamb. But it does -- a South Austin hardware store where for years a snake and a mouse shared a terrarium in peace. The rodent was supposed to be reptile food, but when the snake showed no appetite for him, he stayed on as a roommate, much to the delight of store regulars and neighborhood kids. Alas, this summer the mouse died -- from natural causes -- but his serpentine pal lives on, testament that, yes, we can all get along.
