Read the following synopsis about an epic narrative.
There was a curious cat named Whiskers. One day, while exploring his neighborhood, he stumbled upon a mouse hole. Without hesitation, he squeezed through the gap and found himself in a strange and unfamiliar world. To his surprise, he discovered that he had the power to speak the language of mice and shrink down to their size. Excited by this new ability, Whiskers set out on an expedition through this mysterious mouse-filled world to find his way home. Along the way, he met a group of mice being terrorized by a giant, half-weasel, half-snake creature that spits gumdrops. Whiskers and the mice banded together to defeat the beast. In a selfless act of bravery, Whiskers sacrificed himself to save the mice. With his seemingly dying breath, he turned the creature into a rabbit. Ultimately, the mice give Whiskers some healing milk and a block of cheese with wings and a motor. He arrived home safely and went back to napping 23 hours a day.
In a well-written response of 3-5 sentences, achieve the following:
identify at least three characteristics of an epic hero found within the epic
explain how these three heroic characteristics are present in the epic's plot