The fox - was that even his name? - looked over and saw the fish appear for Monica to eat. He shook his head, how did he know that the cat's name was Monica? He tried to bark in appreciation but found that he was unable to bark anymore, what was coming out was more like the sound a human would make, if they were just learning to speak for the first time or something. What was happening to him? He tried again to bark and the actual words "Thank you" came out. Very clear and distinctive. He was slowly becoming no longer a fox.