"You are imagining things, Manto. Another thing, that mistake in starting to say you were two hundred years old—"
"They would have thought it a joke. And I think I got out of that rather neatly."
"You like to skate on thin ice, don't you, Manto? Just as you did when you changed your height. You had no business shrinking right out in public like that."
"I did it skillfully. Not a single person noticed."
"I noticed."
"Don't quibble."
"I don't intend to. Some of these children have very sharp eyes. You'd be surprised at what they see."
Manto said tolerantly, "You're getting jittery, Palit. We've been away from home too long."
"I am not jittery in the least. But I believe in taking due care."
"What could possibly happen to us? If we were to announce to the children and the teacher, and to every one in this zoo, for that matter, exactly who and what we were, they wouldn't believe us. And even if they did, they wouldn't be able to act rapidly enough to harm us."