Me: Wasn’t it lovely when Harriet realised you’d almost managed to walk to the sea and started running towards you?
Nell: She didn’t run all the way.
Me: No. She stopped to let you walk towards her.
Nell: I’d walked far enough.
Me: You could have tried.
Nell: I was too tired.
Me: You are a grumpy old thing sometimes.
Nell: Talking of grumpy, you’re not going to like this.
Me: Tell me.
Nell: David is applying for a holiday job.
Me: Dave doesn’t have holidays. He’s not at school.
Nell: A casual job then.
Me: Doing what?
Nell: Frying bacon.
Me: I beg your pardon?
Nell: For Beefy Bacon Baps.
Me: You’ve got to be joking.
Nell: I’m not. After much deliberation, and several Zoom calls with Sally, it was decided that David is the perfect animal to go undercover.
Me: Dave can’t go undercover. He wears his heart on his sleeve.
Nell: David doesn’t have sleeves.
Me: You know what I mean.
Nell: David is loyal and trustworthy, and experienced with food.
Me: He might not want to do it.
Nell: The Beefies will pay him in bacon.
Me: What if they lure him over to the dark side like Lionel King?
Nell: Lionel King is the reason we need David. It’s the only way we can find out if he is what he says he is.
Me: A lion?
Nell: No. A double agent.
Me: That lion isn’t a double agent. He’s a baddie.
Nell: He says he isn’t.
Me: I don’t believe him.
Nell: He specifically asked for David.
Me: There you are. What more proof do you need? Lionel knows how Dave feels about bacon.
Nell: David will stay strong. Sally is sure of it.
Me: This is too much to ask of him. Sorry.
