CERBERUS

"Cerberus," replies the witness.

"Do you consider him to be one dog, two dogs, or three dogs?"

Catiline objects to this question as a leading one A legal term for a question that suggests the specific answer the lawyer wants to hear, but Coke manages to get the point across in another way: "How many dogs did you see when you saw Cerberus?"

"Three, anyway," replies the witness with feeling, "though afterward I thought there was a whole dog show original: "bench-show" on top of me."

On cross-examination, Catiline asks him blandly: "My poor friend, if you considered Cerberus to be three dogs anyway, why did you in your testimony a moment ago refer to the avalanche of dogs original: "caninity"—of which you speak so emotionally—as 'him'?"

"He is a 'him'," the witness says sturdily. After this, Coke, feeling defeated original: "discomfited", decides to call his second witness. "What is your business?" asks Coke, after the usual formalities.

"I’m out of business. I am living on my legal compensation original: "damages"."

"What compensation?"

"The money I got from the city for injuries—"