Me: Dave didn’t do what I think he did on the new plants in the activity field, did he?
Nell: He might have done.
Me: Oh dear.
Nell: Boys like to mark.
Me: Poppy used to do that.
Nell: Poppy was a law unto herself.
Me: But the plants are new.
Nell: They’re fine.
Me: It’s going to spoil the sniffari.
Nell: Do you understand what a sniffari is?
Me: Smelling the flowers?
Nell: Moving on, it was good to see David running around.
Me: And Harriet.
Nell: Harriet always runs around. David is usually lead bound.
Me: True.
Nell: Now, you may have noticed things are a little quieter around here.
Me: I hadn’t, actually.
Nell: Are you not missing the dulcet cries of the seagulls?
Me: Oh yes. We haven’t heard from the Beefies in a while.
Nell: That’s because Herr Hoffmann’s eyes have been opened.
Me: What happened?
Nell: They stole Frau Hoffmann’s Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte.
Me: That’s outrageous.
Nell: It’s also almost impossible to say.
Me: Just call it a Black Forest gateau.
Nell: Yes. She’d made it as a surprise for Herr Hoffmann. It’s his favourite.
Me: I love a Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, too.
Nell: I thought we were just saying gateau.
Me: Apologies.
Nell: Anyway, she put it on the side to fetch some plates and cake forks.
Me: You need cake forks with a gateau.
Nell: That’s not the point.
Me: No.
Nell: And when she came back, it was gone.
Me: How shocking.
Nell: And the Beefies were flying around with cream on their beaks and cake in their feathers.
Me: The hooligans.
Nell: She screamed and Herr Hoffmann came running out.
Me: I didn’t know he could run.
Nell: That’s not the point, either. He was very angry and disappointed.
Me: Yes. Sorry.
