Mrs. Smith came to my front door today and said hello and I said hello to her, and then she said goodbye, and that's the way conversations go sometimes. It's different with ants.
   Another thing that's different is strawberries. Clare likes strawberries. She once said, "I suppose the word 'skiffle' put me off," in connection with strawberries, but even she couldn't say what the connection was.
   She went to see her Uncle Harry with her friend, Grace. Harry had ten hamsters. He'd pick up a hamster and say, "You're very, very good." Then he'd put it down, pick up another one and say the same thing.
   After doing this seven times, Clare said to him, "Do you always hold them up just to tell them they're good?"
   "No, sometimes I tell them they're bold." He picked one up and said, "You're very, very bold."
   "My phone is making funny noises," Clare said.
   "Is this like the strawberries again?" Grace said to her.
   "No, conversations just go like that sometimes. Even with ants."
   They said goodbye to Harry, and as they were walking away from the house, Clare remembered why she mentioned her phone. "That hamster buried my phone!"
   They went back and told Harry about it. He picked up a hamster and said, "You're very, very bold."
   Clare wasn't sure if it was the right hamster, but she didn't think it mattered. "There are lots of things I don't know about," she said, "not just times and dates."
   That one probably was like the strawberries.