One goblin stood outside another’s cave, listening to the shrieking, growling, and crashing from within.
‘Cup!’ called the goblin. ‘I’m coming!’
She picked up a stick and rushed in, waving it threateningly.
Among the twigs of the nest and the broken shelves and baskets of shiny rocks scattered across the floor, Cup wrestled with a large hairy beast. It was Cup that was shrieking and growling.
‘Cup!’
Cup looked up. ‘Pot! Meet my new dog!’ They clung to the neck of the creature, which now sat still and watched with whiskers twitching.
Pot took in the scaley tail, long nose, and flappy ears of the beast. ‘Dog?’
‘Yah! Humans breed them in all kinds. I found this one in the swamp!’
‘Our swamp?’
‘Yah!’ Cup scratched the dog behind one hairless ear. ‘In a tree!’
Pot approached the dog with caution and jabbed at it with the stick. The dog nibbled the stick with long flat teeth and then thrust a quivering nose against Pot’s face.
Pot giggled and pat it. ‘Good dog!’