CHAPTER ONE
The birds rise up as one, their wings beating into the air the message that things are not right. The world is divided into dark and light, no longer any balance between them.
The fox comes to the edge of the forest and watches the birds as they disappear in the sky. She sits on her haunches and thinks. Behind her, other animals emerge from the dark woods, one by one.
The clearing is filled with shadows of voles, squirrels, and bears . . .
wolves, coyotes, raccoons, deer, opossums, porcupines, minks, muskrats, skunks, shrews, weasels, and rabbits, and many others. It is difficult to tell in the dusk if the insects have assembled yet. But, soon the sound of buzzing, droning, ticking is heard. Then the eruption of croaks: the frogs have arrived and with them, the snakes.
It is clear to all who have come that something needs to be done. The birds have gone elsewhere to talk among themselves. They will return with their own sort of plan. Until then, the fox thinks, it is up to us. Differences will have to be put aside, wolf and deer, fox and vole. This was bigger than all of them.
The fox begins to sing: “They have killed our wild brothers and sisters.”
“They have killed those who have long been their slaves.”
“They have destroyed our homes.”
“They have fouled our water and dried up the infinite sea. Even breathing is now difficult.”
“From land, sea, and air, even underground, the news is dreadful. We are in the end-times.” Some animals begin to giggle, but the fox continues sternly. “Our lives on this planet are threatened as never before. As always, humans are the cause, but they seem unable to stop or limit themselves. We must save ourselves.”
The coyote sings loudly: “We live alongside them. We could try to change their minds by talking to them.”
The squirrel makes a disgusted face: “They will just shoot you. I live with them and they don’t notice I am there, even when I talk to them all day.”
The bear says: “Not sure making ourselves visible is a good idea. As big as we are, we stay hidden when they are around.”
Everyone is silent. Until a tiny, hesitant voice says: “Dreams.”
“Yes, how would that work?” asks the fox, looking into the dusk to see where the voice is coming from.
“Dreams”, the voice says shyly. “They can change the mind of the dreamer. Everyone knows change can only come from within.”
Again, there is a long silence.
Fox sighs loudly. “It is true, mouse. If all these troubles are to change, we must send dreams to them. Dreams of the present and the future. Warnings of what they are doing to us, the earth, themselves.”
Everyone rumbles or squeaks or sings or croaks agreement. The ability of all animals to send dreams to humans is not often discussed but sometimes used.
And so a decision is made.
[…] Carol Gigliotti ist emeritierte Professorin an der Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver, British Columbia. Sie ist die Herausgeberin des Buchs Leonardo’s Choice: Genetic Technologies and Animals (2009) und hat 2020 die Graphic Novel Trump and the Animals publiziert; https://graphicnovels.carolgigliotti.com/index.php/2018/12/13/trump-and-the-animals/. […]