*
'Why, Mr Cat, is a raven like a writing desk?' Strawberry asked, biting delicately into an Ohlala.
Mr Cat frowned. 'Oh, it's too easy. Hardly even a proper riddly.'
'I'd like to hear your solution, ' she smugged. Strawberry knewed it were an absurd nonsense, without solution. Mr Blue had told her so.
Mr Cat narrowed his eyes, which were green and golden, and black, and puffed at his pipe. He puffed at it again, and then blew a cloud of smoke from his mouth. Strawberry smiled politely.
'To solve a riddly one need pay attention to its clue. They all have one, or they sharn't be a proper enigible.'
'Oh, does it have its clue?'
Mr Cat puffed at his pipe. He blew slow fat rings of smoke. Then he replied: 'It does.'
'What is it?'
'There aren't many words there, dear. Can't you work it out?' he replied, setting his pipe in its ashtray.
'Wherever did you find these Ohlalas?' she enthused, scooping another spoonful onto her plate. 'I can't recall ever such scrumptiousnesses!'
'They very are a delight, aren't they? I know you are a simpleton during earlytymes, Strawbz, ' he said purrily, 'but it's only four words that count at all.'
She made a confuzzly face, and walked over to the central console, taking her plate of nices with her. 'Do you have to
tease me, darling, Mr Cat? Won't you just tell?'
Mr Cat settled more comfortably upon the cherry-red sofa. 'The mattery words are: writing, desk, raven, like. We have two
items, ' he iterated, 'and, in some manner they are alike.'
Strawberry smileyed.
'At first glance, ' he continued, 'there isn't much similarlyness. A desk and a bird. They aren't alike physically. That's the
trickerty bit, you see!'
'Gosh, ' she replied, impressed by the cat's very cleveryness this earlytyme.
'They must therefore, if they alike at all, be alike in a non-physical manner.'
'That is sensibles, ' she concurred. She flipped the twirlybutton, and, after a few moments, the red lights crept on, and then
blinked out. 'Oh. And, they can't be of a similar personality type, for examples, since tables don't have brains.'
'Ahh, yes, well done! So, we only have their preferences to go on. The table is specifically a writing desk. There's the clue.' Strawberry drew a breath of excites, and turned all her attention upon Mr Cat. She popped the remnant of an Ohlala
into her mouth, and smiled at him encouragingly.
'What does a writing desk hate mostest of everything? Stickiness! Or, marmalade. You can't put writing paper on a
sticky marmalade desk.'
She sat again on the sofa, placing her empty plate back on the coffee table. 'And the raven?' she enquired seriously, 'do ravens hate marmalade?'
'They abhor it, ' he returned, stretching regally. 'Why, why is a raven like to a writing desk? Because neither of them like marm