Magic Item - Stuffed Crocodile

A lot of the childrens'/young adult fantasy fiction I've read features a stuffed crocodile a part of the Wizard's lair set dressing...

This item is a roughly man-sized crocodile taxidermy, with two chains attached to the dorsal surface, one above each pair of legs.

When hung from the ceiling of a magic-user's laboratory, workshop, and the like, it reduces the time and cost associated with magical research; spell transcriptions; potion brewing; and scroll scribing by 10%.

If a combination of the Speak With Animals and Speak With Dead spells are used, the stuffed crocodile will turn out to be quite the chatty gossip.