The first barrier we placed on the stairs leading to the second floor was of wood, but Jack was easily able to leap over it. That was replaced with a higher barrier, of stiff cardboard which he soon discovered was a literal pushover, so I became accustomed, when upstairs, to suddenly being confronted by a little black shadow. A little shadow that dogged my every footstep but was fearful of descending the stairs on his own.

We can teach them not to be afraid, and we will. Jill, for her part, takes a running leap at the stairs from the backyard where we take them to race about and evacuate when the time requires, so that she leaps the first step, landing on the second and then bounds onto the deck, circling it in a frenzy of new discovery. It's impossible to halt them in the execution of one of these acrobatic frenzies, they move at the speed of light and when they sense they might be in danger of being caught, they twist and turn like experienced combatants on the field of independence.

Jack knows now, how to behave civilly when they're being fed, and he's cleaned out his bowl, waiting for the second portion (I divide their portions to try to get them to slow down) patiently, no longer whisking himself over to Jill's bowl, because she is somewhat slower in wolfing it all down. So that's progress.

Jack makes no fuss when I'm grooming him, though to be honest when I'm cleaning their eyes, both are quiet and patient. Jill, though when I'm combing her long, black glossy hair, squiggles and squirms, not like Jack who is more docile about the daily routine.

How do I know the difference between them? It isn't Jill who sniffs my leg ardently then mounts it.

Sometimes their play-wrestling seems so gratuitously vicious that I worry one or the other will get hurt. I'm always on the lookout to try to determine which of them is the more aggressive of the two, but it's a tossup. Do they love one another? Does cinnamon complement apple pie?

These mornings, when we take them out for the first time to do their business, they certainly settle down to do that business, on all accounts. Which, despite our attempts to time things just so, doesn't exempt them from business in the house, as well throughout the day.

It's impressive how accurate they are even while racing madly about, in avoiding hitting objects that stand in their way, even at sharp curves. We're impressed with their level of intelligence, we can almost see it in their bright little eyes, observing, evaluating, drawing conclusions...