the menagerie

Evening at the Chateau de Healy.
I am ensconced in an armchair in the front room.
Various members of the animal kingdom are helping me eat dinner.
Mr Blue the budgie is on my shoulder cheering my every munch with a cacophony of bells and whistles.
Fur Ham the hamster is on the coffee table, alternately chewing and pouching his turnip.
Beaky the parrot is on the couch pecking a piece of mashed potato.
Jess the sheepdog is at my feet eyeballing the budgie.
She's not allowed eat budgies and she knows it.
I munch my pork chops with moderate relish.
Jess occasionally allows herself an absent minded thump of the tail to register her interest in the pork chops.
"Stop staring at the budgie Jess," I murmur between mouthfuls.
"A cat can look at a king," says Jess. "Why can't I look at a budgie? It doesn't mean I'm going to eat him."
"You're upsetting me and the budgie," I tell her.
"You'll both get used to it," woofs Jess.
"You don't like budgies do you?" I ask her.
"They're okay in their place," says Jess.
"Where's that?" sez me.
"In a cage," answers Jess with an air of finality.