“Have you ever watched a cat behead a mouse, Peter?”

I open my eyes as I hear my name. I feel groggy and disorientated, and have no idea why this mysterious person is talking to me about mice, so I respond with an articulate, “Huh?”

“Have you ever seen a cat dismember a mouse, Peter? Try to keep up,” the voice says back, this time more impatiently.

I try to sit up to see who’s talking to me, but my torso won’t budge. I try to wiggle around a bit, to see what’s holding me down.

“It’s called rope, Peter. It’s this fascinating invention that has multiple uses, ” the voice says, with a hint of amusement, presumably at my struggle.

Rope, of course. I feel so stupid at not realizing this earlier, that I don’t even bother to be miffed at being called a “thing.”

“You never answered my question, Peter. Such terrible manners. But I can’t blame you. I’m sure the cholrophorm took a lot out of you. So I’ll give you a second chance to answer. Have you ever seen a cat behead a mouse? ”