The black cockerel peered in between the bars for a moment, and then fluttered away.
'Gives me the creeps, that one,' said Nanny. 'Can't look at him without thinking wistfully of sage-and-onion and mashed potatoes.'
Her crinkled face crinkled further.
'Greebo!' she said. 'Where'd we leave him?'
'Oh, he's only a cat,' said Granny Weatherwax. 'Cats know how to look after themselves.'
'He's really just a big softie - ' Nanny began, before someone started pulling down the wall.
A hole appeared. A grey hand appeared and grasped another stone. There was a strong smell of river mud.
Rock crumbled under heavy fingers.
'Ladies?' said a resonant voice.
'Well, Mister Saturday,' said Nanny, 'as I live and breathe - saving your presence, o'course.'
Saturday grunted something and walked away.
There was a hammering on the door and someone started fumbling with keys.
'We don't want to hang around here,' said Granny. 'Come on.'
only inside," said Lily.
'Inside's where it counts,' said Granny.
'Outside's quite important, mind,' said Nanny.
'Lots of people are animals inside. Lots of animals are people inside,' said Lily. 'Where's the harm?'
'He's a frog.'
'Especially at night,' said Nanny. It had occurred to her that a husband who was a man all night and a frog all day might be almost acceptable; you wouldn't get the wage packet, but there'd be less wear and tear on the furniture. She also couldn't put out of her mind certain private speculations about the length of his tongue.
'And you killed the Baron,' said Magrat.
'You think he was a particularly nice man?' said Uly. 'Besides, he didn't show me any respect. If you've got no respect, you've got nothing.'
Nanny and Magrat found themselves looking at Granny.
'He's a frog.'
'I found him in the swamp,' said Lily. 'I could tell he was pretty bright. I needed someone . . . amenable to persuasion. Shouldn't frogs have a chance? He'll be no worse a husband than many. Just one kiss from a princess seals the spell.'
'A lot of men are animals,' said Magrat, who'd picked up the idea from somewhere.
'Yes. But he's a frog,' said Granny.
'Look at it my way,' said Lily. 'You see this country? It's all swamps and fogs. There's no direction. But I can make this a great city. Not a sprawling place like Ankh-Morpork, but a place that works.'
'The girl doesn't want to marry a frog.'
'What will that matter in a hundred years' time?'
'It matters now.'