doesnt mean your daemon is taken a of tion. t they?”

    Lyra blinked. Suddenly sood trange blank incuriosity, ttle trotting daemons seemed to be sleepwalking.

    Say not, and s h hard.

    “Darling, no one ion on a c testing it first. And no one in a take a coget tle cut, and t at ty, to very soon, darling, daemons bring all sort of troublesome ts and feelings, and ts s Dust in. A quick little operation before t, and youre never troubled again. And your daemon stays  not connected. Like a...like a , if you like. t pet in t you like t?”

    Orutelling! And even if Lyra  knoo be lies (tony Makarios; ted it , to be cut ao a little trotting pet? Lyra nearly blazed red, and Pantalaimon in , t ugly and vicious of all his forms, and snarled.

    But talaimon tig Mrs. Coulter stroke her hair.

    “Drink up your cer softly. “ell o go back and sory  no my little assistant back. My favorite! t assistant in to tell you o find you again....”

    All time, t restlessly, one minute percable s clinging to Mrs. Coulter and ctering softly in  pacing tail erect. raying Mrs. Coulters impatience, of course, and finally s  in.

    “Lyra, dear,” s ter of Jordan gave you somet. Isnt t riger. trouble is, it  o give. It  in s really too valuable to be carried about—dyou knos one of only ter gave it to you in t it o Lord Asriels old you not to tell me about it, didnt he?”

    Lyra ted h.

    “Yes, I can see. ell, never mind, darling, because you didnt tell me, did you?