A good, cheap macro setup?

Jeff Peterman has a friend who is breeding fancy mice. She wants to photograph them, so she'd like advice on a macro setup. Jeff writes, "Obviously, I could easily recommend a dSLR and a macro lens (or some other lens with a close-up filter or extension tubes), plus a good external flash, but that would cost more than she wants to spend. So, I wondered if anyone can recommend some other, cheaper combination?" Click here to join the discussion!