He was a worried man (I'm stretching the term a bit here, I know. By now, in his mid to late teens, he might just about have passed for a man. When seen from behind. At a distance. On a very dark night).
Jonathan StroudHippo in a skirt: this was a comic reference to one of Solomon's principal wives, the one from Moab. Childish? Yes. But in the days before printing we had limited opportunities for satire.
Jonathan StroudHe was transfixed at the sight of the lords and ladies of his realm running about like demented chickens.
Jonathan StroudCheck out that one at the end. He's taken the form of a footstool. Weird...but somehow I like his style." "That is a footstool.
Jonathan Stroud