No matter how friendly and even-tempered the beast, if one can call it that, one is affected by every twitch and grunt.

A bronze griffin from Samos is a friendly beast with a hooked beak, curled tongue, pointed ears and no fangs.

But the one on view, a sand-colored glass dromedary, blown probably in Syria before the eighth century, is such a friendly beast, one suspects that its two heads will always spark more smiles that serious questions.

But a raccoon was a friendly beast.

Oog, as he decided on the spot to name his pet, was the friendliest beast alive.

By now, the latter-day, postlapsarian gardens of the world have become nearly as ecumenical, in plant material at least, as Eden could ever have been, and considerably less pestered by large, friendly beasts.

No matter how friendly or temperate the beast, one is affected by every twitch and grunt.

Monster-loving children will enjoy My Favourite Monsters by Vincent James (Hazar £7.99) where friendly beasts inhabit a child's bedroom.

Starting tomorrow, Professor Bodywise's furry and friendly beasts will take their health and safety messages to several Westchester schools.

They were nice little beasts, friendly and eager, and the children were already very fond of them.