Bloom

The story goes that Prophet Muhammad was leaving his house for morning prayer and cut the sleeve off his robe to avoid disturbing his pet. There exist several hadith and sunnah (stories not in the Qur'an, compare "tradition" in Catholicism) about Prophet Muhammad's kindness to animals, cats in particular.

Interpretation: what's the pun? First, "budding" vs. "blooming" and "bud" vs. "bloom". Second, see Gogarty's verse, Molly, with its deniable smut on "bloom" and "bud": http://goo.gl/910ln6 So an inside joke is Joyce putting down Gogarty upon whom Mulligan is based.

Interpretation: what's the pun? First, "budding" vs. "blooming" and "bud" vs. "bloom". Second, see Gogarty's verse, Molly, with its deniable smut on "bloom" and "bud": http://goo.gl/U8i44b So an inside joke is Joyce putting down Gogarty upon whom Mulligan is based.