MIPS

"Yeeoww! Unhand me, brute! I'm late, so late, I must make haste! This shiny thing? Mine! It's mine. Finders, keepers, losers... Late, late, late... Ouch! Take it then! A gift from Bowser, it was. Now let me be! I have a date! I cannot be late for tea!"

- MIPS

MIPS is a rabbit found in the basement of Princess Peach's Castle during the events of Super Mario 64. When Mario approaches the bunny, MIPS will run away. After Mario catches MIPS, the rabbit gives him a Power Star. MIPS appears in the basement a second time after Mario has collected fifty Power Stars. Mario can catch MIPS again and will get another Power Star from him. In the remake Super Mario 64 DS, there are many different rabbits modeled after MIPS.

Apparently, MIPS is late for an important appointment. This is most likely a reference to the White Rabbit from the book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and subsequent film adaptations.

Trivia

 * MIPS got his name from the MIPS (Microprocessor without Interlocked Pipeline Stages) microprocessor. Nintendo 64's CPU was a MIPS type, and thus the technology gave its name to the character.
 * MIPS, along with Mario himself, were the first characters created for Super Mario 64. He was used extensively in early Nintendo 64 test simulations and ultimately made it into the final game because the development team liked him so much.
 * MIPS' quote of I'm late, so late, I must make haste may be a reference to Alice in Wonderland's White Rabbit.