Mabel chuckled softly as Zeus entered the farmyard with no instructions from her. She turned to Felix. ‘Is Coconut driven by his tummy too?’

Felix nodded. ‘I think all animals are.’ Laughing, he added, ‘Me too most of the time!’

‘Well, you’ll not go hungry here,’ said Roz. ‘Heulwyn’s a wonderful cook and she believes in large portions – me and Mabel have both put on weight!’

‘Sounds like a woman after my own heart!’ said Felix. Jumping down from the sleigh, he took his kitbag from under the seat and threw it over his shoulder before giving both girls a hand down, just as a voice hailed them from behind.

Mabel waved a hand as Howell approached them. ‘Hello, Howell, you were right!’ she said, swiftly removing the harness. ‘He was a dream to drive, and he knew exactly where he was going.’

Howell greeted Felix with a hearty handshake. ‘Hello, Felix, I’m Howell. Come on in, Heulwyn’s itching to get supper on the table.’

Felix turned to say that he would give the girls a hand with the horse, only to see that they had already unharnessed and stabled Zeus who was already enjoying a bucket of warm mash.

‘Blimey, that didn’t take long,’ he said, his tone full of admiration.

‘Been taught by the best,’ said Mabel, indicating Howell with a nod of her head.

‘Poppycock! It’s the thought of Heulwyn’s meat and potato pie that’s driving them on,’ Howell replied, winking at them.

‘Maybe just a little,’ Mabel admitted, as she followed the others across the yard.

Roz was about to tell Felix to take his boots off in the porch, but it seemed he was one step ahead of her.

Heulwyn, who was standing by the fire, beckoned them over. ‘Hello, Felix, I’m Heulwyn. I expect you’re frozen to the bone. Come on over and warm your toes, you can worry about unpacking later.’

The evening seemed to fly by, with the Davieses keen to hear about Australia, and everything else that Felix had to tell them.

‘You’d have made a good farmer,’ said Howell, after hearing how Felix had taken to working with Coconut down the docks. ‘You sound like a natural when it comes to animals. I’ve seen plenty of folk try to make a beast do their bidding, but an animal has to trust you if it’s to do as you ask.’

A proud smile formed on Felix’s lips under the farmer’s praise.

‘We’ll see how well he gets on with the milking tomorrow,’ grinned Mabel. ‘We’ll soon see whether he’s a natural or not!’

It was Christmas Eve morning and the girls were teaching Felix how to milk, something which caused a great deal of hilarity at first, but despite their teasing, Felix had soon got the knack, and it wasn’t long before he was churning out pail after pail.