All the time it spoke it whispered into David’s ear, and tickled it.
‘Could you speak a little louder and a little farther off?’ he asked.
‘No, not possibly,’ said the giraffe. ‘My throat is so long, you see, that if I speak in the ordinary voice, it gets quite lost before it comes out of my mouth.’
David guessed this was another surprise, and remembered to jump.
‘That’s a good boy,’ said the giraffe approvingly. ‘Now I’ll tell you something else. I’ll dance with you when they’re ready.’
‘Oh, is it going to be a dance?’ asked David, who didn’t care about dancing.
‘Some of it is going to be a dance, and then the happy families give a concert, and then I should think there would be a battle. One never can tell for certain, but, with so many soldiers about, something of the sort is bound to happen. But the dance comes first, and I’ll be your partner.’
‘Oh, are you a lady?’ asked David.
‘I should think so. You never saw a gentleman like me, I’ll be bound.’
‘Yes, but then I never saw a lady like you either,’ said David.