E arnests …

 »Too bad we missed another chance.«

The black sheep went back on all four legs again and is chewing on the leaves of the hedge-labyrinth now. Aren't laurel leaves kind of poisonous for sheep? Should I stop it from eating from the hedges?

»What chance?« I ask without thinking or wanting to know the answer.

»The Sturgeon moon, man! Full-moons are turning the dials«, the sheep says. »But We will get a second chance this month. Wait for it, man!«

»A second full-moon in one month?« I cannot keep myself from frowning. »A month is a unit of time, used with calendars, that is approximately as long as a natural orbital period of the Moon. It takes the Moon one month to circle Earth once, ergo one month - one full-moon, you demon sheep, you.«

»Wait and see, human. You know nothing, Bromford Bibble. Wait and see.«

The sheep keeps on chewing the laurel leaves.

»But what to expect from a beast without any horns and tails?«

I take a deep breath.

»Why are you talking to me, sheep?« I ask. »I mean I am used to one walking and talking llama. I have been living with that animal in that penthouse in Bromford, the friendly town by the bay and shore and seaside, for almost twelve years now. But why do you insist on talking to me? Am I some kind of Doctor Doolittle, now, or what?«

»I am no animal, human«, the sheep who claims not to be an animal says.

»I know«, I answer, »you told me before you were a faun. But what the heck is a faun? Some kind of bird or what?«

»Wait and see, infidel. We will wait and see.«

When running gags are running out…

Bored of the life in the City of Gold
He'd left and let nobody know.
Gone were the towers he had known from a child,
Alone with the dream of a life
He travelled the wide open road,
The blinkered arcade,
In search of another to share in his life.
Nowhere.
Everyone looked so strange to him.

They've got no horns and they've got no tail
They don't even know of our existence.
Am I wrong to believe in a City of Gold
That lies in the deep distance, he cried

And wept as they led him away to a cage
Beast that can talk, read the sign.
The creatures they pushed and they prodded his frame
And questioned his story again.
But soon they grew bored of their prey
Beast that can talk?
More like a freak or publicity stunt.
Oh
No.

They've got no horns and they've got no tail
They don't even know of our existence.
Am I wrong to believe in a City of Gold
That lies in the deep distance, he cried

And broke down the door of the cage and marched on out.
He grabbed a creature by the scruff of his neck, pointing out:

©©©©

Today is Friday, the 4th of August 2023.

Earnest Black Sheep