Abby hesitated. She had to be dreaming.
“Well yes, people do. Animals usually don’t. Well, in their own language I guess they do.” She was curious. “How is it that you can talk?”

” ‘Cause I want to. Hell, why else would anything talk?”

“But that’s not how things work. I thought only people could talk.”

“Who you been learnin’ from? Anything can talk if it wants to.
Why shouldn’t it be able to? Things got stuffs to say, y’know.”

Abby shook her head. She couldn’t believe that she was conversing with a beast. “Things don’t think though. They’re lifeless. Dumb.”

“Hey! Watch who yer talking to! I ain’t no dummy. I’m the powerhouse o’ this place you know.”

“How so? By turning that wheel all day?”

“S’pose so.”

“Well what does it do?”

“Don’t know, don’t care. Old man hitched me up one day an’ told me to keep turnin’ an’ here I am.” he replied simply.

“Well that doesn’t sound very productive,” she said with an eyebrow raised.

“Eh, I do my job to get things done, Fanny’s yer aunt, an’ whatever,” he grumbled.