Me: There’s something really comforting about the sight of sleeping dogs.
Nell: You’re supposed to ‘let them lie’ and not engage them in conversation.
Me: I’ll go and talk to Robin then.
Nell: You might as well stay now that you’re here. I’m sure Robin will be happy to chat later.
Me: How was last night? Did you all have enough space?
Nell: It was extremely cramped. Two lions and a tiger take up a lot of room even when one of them is just a cub. And the llamas didn’t stay in the kitchen as requested.
Me: I expect they wanted to hear the story and be near the fire.
Nell: Talking of fires, things got really heated when one of the butterfly sisters mistook Alejandro for a llama.
Me: Oh dear. Was he annoyed?
Nell: Very. Alpacas are extremely proud of their heritage. Fortunately Henry and Horst managed to diffuse the situation and Rupert could carry on reading.
Me: Did everyone enjoy ‘David Copperfield’?
Nell: They did. Tears were shed on the death of Dora, of course, especially by Manuel who hadn’t heard the story before.
Me: Did he understand it? Dickens must be quite a challenge for a Spanish octopus.
Nell: Not all of it. He asked quite a lot of questions. Then he just kept shaking his tentacles and saying ‘Dora dead’ and ‘Poor dear Davey’ in a sad voice.
Me: Bless him. I remember being upset about that too.
Nell: David took it all to heart as usual and hung on every word.
Me: Darling Big Brave Beautiful Boy. He is our David Copperfield and Sally is his Dora. She even calls him Davey.
Nell: Sally is nothing like Dora who was very silly. She is clearly an Agnes. Sensible and caring.
Me: Yes. Sorry.
