“As for Sampson, you might think he was very sorry about his lapse, but you would be wrong because he wasn’t. The mice had been taking him a bit for granted of late, he thought, and the fact that they were frivolous giddy creatures was no excuse. They’d learnt he was not to be trifled with, and after that, whenever they needed reminding, he would just yawn and say he hoped he wouldn’t drop off during the sermon, and then there would be no more giggling and tittering over silly jokes about ‘dogs’ for at least two days.”