Me: You are such a beautiful dog, Nell.
Nell: Thank you.
Me: I’m so lucky to have you in my life.
Nell: Do you want something?
Me: No.
Nell: Only David ate the last of the bacon, so we are going to have to wait for the next delivery.
Me: I don’t want bacon. I’ll make do with a boiled egg.
Nell: I’m not sure there are any eggs left either. The larger animals decided to make omelettes for breakfast.
Me: Themselves?
Nell: Yes. The mess was unbelievable. Poppy was furious and chased them out of the kitchen with her sword.
Me: Oh dear. Did they manage to finish their omelettes?
Nell: That’s not the point.
Me: I’ll just have a piece of toast then.
Nell: If there’s any bread left. David made sandwiches.
Me: There must be cereal.
Nell: Ask Malcolm. He was at the pool with Princess and Manuel the last time I saw him.
Me: How is Manuel settling in?
Nell: Extremely well. Fortunately Malcolm speaks a little Spanish and Princess can sign with her flippers.
Me: So is he really from Barcelona?
Nell: Yes. But he was working in Torquay as a waiter in a hotel run by a rather hysterical Lurcher.
Me: So how did he get here?
Nell: He was enjoying a morning swim when a Beefy scooped him up, flew him here and dropped him.
Me: That must have been a shock.
Nell: It was, but now he’s here, he doesn’t want to leave.
Me: Can’t he stay then, Nell? His waiting skills might be rather useful.
Nell: Never mind his waiting skills. You should see how quickly he tidied up the kitchen.
Me: So the Beefies did us a favour, if you ink about it.
Nell: Good grief.
Me: Just squidding. Sorry.
