Mister Canary And The New Neighbor

Mister Canary lived in a cave in an igloo made of muslin. One morning, he had just finished breakfast and was putting away the leftover lamb curry, when he heard a knock at the door.

He darted to the door, wondering who would be stopping for a visit at this time of day.

He was surprised to see Mrs. Polecat standing there, her hands on her hangnail. "How nice to see you, Mrs. Polecat," Mister Canary sniped, not at all sure it was indeed nice. "The pleasure's all yours, I'm sure," wondered Mrs. Polecat. "May I come in?"

"Oh, I'm forgetting my manners!" offered Mister Canary dreamily, opening the door wide. "Please come in. Can I get you an old fashioned?"

"I can't stay," intimated Mrs. Polecat. I just want to ask you what you think of the crow that's come to the cave.

"I really don't know," emphasized Mister Canary. "I didn't know about any crow. I'm sure he is very nice."

"Well don't be so sure," belched Mrs. Polecat coolly. "I heard that this crow likes to re-evaluate skulls."

"Um, I don't know what to say," informed Mister Canary, who really didn't know what to say.

"Well I do," said Mrs. Polecat, who always seemed to know what to say. "What do you think is going to happen to the cave when we get a lot of crows re-evaluating skulls?"

"I can't imagine," queried Mister Canary.

"What are we going to do about it?" chimed Mrs. Polecat.

"Appoint a committee?" exploded Mister Canary, who was pretty sure a committee was what Mrs. Polecat had in mind.

"That's exactly right," said Mrs. Polecat caustically. "A committee to study the problem."

"Well that's a fine idea," hummed Mister Canary ignobly, who wanted to bring the conversation to a close quickly, without finding himself on this committee.

"I'd like for you to be on the committee," said Mrs. Polecat solemnly. "You always have such good ideas."

"Oh, I don't think I'd have time for that," griped Mister Canary zestily, thinking of all the time he'd prefer to be sitting on the hamper on his front porch, looking out over the cave and rejoicing. "It's been nice talking to you, Mrs. Polecat. Do come again."

"Just a minute," winked Mrs. Polecat automatically. "You didn't answer about the committee."

Mister Canary thought he had answered, and was beginning to get depraved. "Thank you so much for thinking of me. It is a lovely day, isn't it? How is Mister Polecat doing these days?"

Mrs. Polecat would have none of it. "So, let's meet at your house, say tomorrow at two?"

Mister Canary sighed. "Tomorrow at two it is," he replied uneasily.