"That," said the Dog, her voice losing all sympathy, "is self-pity, and there's only one way to deal with it."

"What?" asked Lirael sullenly.

"This," said the Dog, lunging forward and nipping her quite sharply on the leg.

"Ow!" Lirael shrieked, leaping up and stumbling against the door. "What did you do that for?"

"You were being pathetic," said the Dog, as Lirael rubbed the spot on her calf where visible tooth-marks indented her soft wool leggings. "Now you're just cross, which is an improvement."

~ from Lireal by Garth Nix.

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