"Wouldn't you like to have a nice new plaything, Octavia? really a charming plaything, my dear?"
"A plaything? What do you mean?"
"A very amusing plaything that jumps about and plays tricks, and could climb up the curtains, for instance, or sit on your shoulder and eat cakes."
"Sit on my shoulder! The man has gone crazy! Don't come any nearer, Ferdinand, I beg of you. You are ill!"
"Oh no, Octavia my dear, my mind is all right. I mean—I mean—just a monkey, my darling."
"Good heavens! Is he calling me a monkey? What do you mean?"
"My love, I only mean that there is a monkey on board the ship, that I would so much like to have here at home."
"And that is what you were beating about the bush so for! Well, well, that is just like you. However, I agree to anything you like, of course; let the creature come—let it come. It will strangle me some fine day, but I am used to that—I mean, I am used to saying yes and yielding to others."
And that is how Stomach came into the house.