Deesum rapped the hare’s paw sharply with a spoon. “Mister Florian, what a dreadful thing to say!”

Florian wrung his paw and blew upon it. “Owooch! Save your aggression for the enemy, marm! I say, what a super pasty. Is that all for me, wot?”

Gurrbowl the cellarmole sliced off a wedge of pasty and presented it to the gluttonous hare. “This yurr pasty be’s full o’ woild garlic, maister. You’m may not loik et, ’tis powerful strong, ho urr!”

Much to the amusement of everybeast, Florian ate a double helping with great relish. “Exceedingly tasty, my good mole. Garlic, y’say? Well, at least I won’t have much trouble bowlin’ the enemy over. I’ll just shout in their faces like this. Whoooooo are yooooooooou!”

Deesum fell back, clutching a serviette to her nose. “Really, sir, do you have to do that?”

Rimrose helped herself to some mint wafers and maple sauce. “Were you ever in a battle, mister Florian?”

Borrakul the otter paused, a ladle half in and half out of a bowl of summer vegetable soup. “Oh, don’t start him, marm, please!”

But Florian was in fine form. Piling his plate high with woodland trifle and plum tart, he put on a brave face. “Battle did y’say, marm? I once frightened off a thousand flippin’ frogs armed with nought but a pail o’ wet blackberries!”

Tragglo Spearback swirled the October Ale in his tankard. “Don’t tell such whackin’ fibs, you great furry fraud!”

Deesum looked up from a slice of strawberry flan she was nibbling. “Oh, but he did. Let me tell you how it happened. We’d been picking blackberries and had collected a small pailful, but unfortunately baby Dwopple upset them in some mud. Mister Florian took them down to the stream to wash them clean while we set up camp. It was in deep woodlands down southwest. While he was away we were suddenly surrounded by masses of frogs. There must have been a thousand of the dreadful things, and they looked very aggressive and pretty angry with us. I think it was because we had done our washing in a poolful of their tadpoles. Anyhow, they had us captured and looked as if they were planning something ugly as a punishment for the whole troupe. Go on, you tell them what happened next, sir.”