One Raspy, One Creamy, One Childish

Gaius is glad to be home.

He drops his back pack, and the bottle containing Daniel O'Connell, on the kitchen table.

Daniel O'Connell hears voices, coming from somewhere near the window.

Sorry, my love!

What have you done to the tickets?

I did not know they were tickets.

He wet them!

Three voices. One raspy, one creamy, one childish. Daniel O'Connell wonders what sort of tickets they were and who they belonged to, and whether they might still be usable. If not, that seems a shame.

But the travelling has sapped him of energy, and he does nothing to find out the answer.

Gaius is busy on the phone.

Yes, something for underwater audio recordings. HOW much! Great Jupiter's balls!

Slam.

He goes into the bathroom.

The doorbell rings. Ding dong!

Gaius comes out of the bathroom, and opens the door.

It's Belle, with Terence.

Hello, Gaius, says Terence. Did you bring me a present?

Terence! says Belle. Hi, Gaius. Sweezie said you were back. How was the poisonous cave?

Fascinating, says Gaius. The bacteria down there oxidise methane and carbon dioxide, the two biggest culprits of global warming.

Really? says Belle. I suppose they might come in useful.

Exactly, says Gaius. Hello, Terence. No present, but I have something you might like to see.

Ooh, Terence! says Belle. Gaius has something you might like to see.

But Terence has already run into the kitchen, and seen the bottle.

This must be it. He reaches up, grabs it.

Yippee! There's a spider inside. But it's not moving.

He peers into the bottle. Shakes it, until Daniel O'Connell wakes up.

Wah!

Hello spider! says Terence. I'm Terence. I used to live in a palace. I had a parrot, and then another parrot, and then another one that popped, and now I've got a real parrot. But I lost it.

I used to live in a cave, says Daniel O'Connell. I had nothing, not even this bottle. But, on the plus side, I have relatives in the Canaries.

In the canaries? says Terence. Does that mean they ate them?

Who? asks Daniel O'Connell.

The canaries, says Terence. Does that mean the canaries ate your relatives?

No, it means IN the Canaries, says Daniel O'Connell. Like I'm in this bottle.The bottle didn't eat me.

Ha ha, laughs Terence. You're funny. What are you here for?

Scientific purposes, says Daniel O'Connell. Gaius is going to do some underwater recordings of fish noise. He reads Science Daily.

But YOU, says Terence. What are you here for? You can't do underwater recordings.

It's true. Daniel O'Connell wouldn't have the first idea how to do underwater recordings.

Don't be sad, says Terence. You can be my new parrot. And we'll go and see the canaries.

Terence runs across to the window.

Who wants to come? We're going to look for canaries!

I'm coming. I know where some are, says Baby Pierre.

Lucky no adults are listening.

Gaius is explaining the importance of recording underwater fish noise to Belle, who always asks intelligent questions.

And Ageless and Kobo are on the window sill, trying to dry out the tickets