Merriwig was comfortably ignorant of the subject. The King of Barodia knew rather less than that.
"Er—how many have you?" asked the latter.
"Seven thousand," said Merriwig at random.
"Er—so have I," said the King of Barodia, still more feebly.
"Couples," explained Merriwig.
"Mine are ones," said the King of Barodia, determined to be independent at last.
Each King was surprised to find how easy it was to talk to an expert on his own subject. The King of Barodia, indeed, began to feel reckless.
"Well," he said, "I must be getting back. It's—er—milking time."
"So must I," said Merriwig. "By the way," he added, "what do you feed yours on?"
The King of Barodia was not quite sure if it was apple sauce or not. He decided that perhaps it wasn't.