“And so, with a torn sleeve and a keyboard on which cigarette
ash can rest, writers ended up arsonists of recycled material with
a blanket over fast burning fires to send fragments of reality to the
sky for people to manage any way they wish. Or can." (intro "Throwing Dice on a Chessboard”
Source: Throwing Dice on a Chessboard:
“Now sped he like a pirate of the air. Now fled she like a flying yacht gold-laden, away, away, and the warm wind whistled, left behind. But the pirate surely wins when the prize is not averse to being taken. Not many a span of the winding stream, not many a wing-beat of that flight ere Atalapha was skimming side by side with a glorified Silver-brown. How rich and warm was that coat. How gentle, alluring the form and the exquisite presence that told without sounds of a spirit that also had hungered.”
Source: Billy and other stories from Wild Animals Ways being personal histories of Billy Atalapha, the Wild Geese of Wyndygoul Jinny
“And who shall tell the history of his bright young jailers at the mill? Little is known but this: the pestilence born of the flies alighted on that home, and when the grim one left it there were two new mounds, short mounds in the sleeping ground that is overlooked by the wooden tower. Who can tell us what snowflake set the avalanche a-rolling, or what was the one, the very spark which, quenched, had saved the royal city from the flames. This only did we know: that the Bats were destroying the bearers of the plague about that house; many Bats had fallen by the gun, and the plague struck in that house where the blow was hardest to be borne. We do not know. It is a chain with many links; we have not the light to see; and the only guide that is always safe to follow in the gloom is the golden thread of kindness, the gospel of Assisi’s Saint.”
Source: Billy and other stories from Wild Animals Ways being personal histories of Billy Atalapha, the Wild Geese of Wyndygoul Jinny
“Twice nightly they went flying with Mother to the long wet valley through the timber, and though at first they wearied before they had covered thrice the length of the Beaver ponds, their strength grew quickly, and the late Thunder Moon saw them nearly full grown, strong on the wing, and rejoicing in the power of flight. Oh what a joy it was, when the last streak of light was gone from the western world rim, to scramble to the hole and launch into the air – one, two, three- Mother, Brother, and Little Brother to go kiting, scooting, circling, sailing, diving, and soaring – with flutter, wheel, and downward plunge. Then sharp with huger they would dart for the big abounding game – great fat Luna moths, roaring June-bugs, luscious cecropias, and a thousand smaller gave were whizzing and flitting on every side, a plenteous feast for those of wings of speed.”
Source: Billy and other stories from Wild Animals Ways being personal histories of Billy Atalapha, the Wild Geese of Wyndygoul Jinny
“The sunset of the forest had given the signal to robin and tanager to begin their vesper song. The sunset of the mount had issued the dew-time call that conjures out of the caves and hollow trees the smallest of the winged Brownie folk, whose kingdom is the twilight and whose dance hall is high above the tree-tops.”
Source: Raggylug and Other Stories From Wild Animals I Have Known Being the Personal Histories of Raggylug, the Springfield Fox, the Pacing Mustang, Wully
“Afraid you won’t be able to keep up,” needled Volant, interrupting. “I thought you were The Fastest Flier in the Sky?!”
“Really,” said Gabby. “That’s how you’re going to play this?”
“Yep, slowpoke, that’s how I’m going to play it.”
And without another word, Volant the eagle launched into the air, pointed south, with not so much as a glance back.”
Source: Bat Cave: A Fable of Epidemic Proportions
“Thank goodness,” said Gabby after all the bats had landed. Then the seagull crept to the edge of the perch where he and Volant rested, and leaned far out and over, ducking and twisting his head to peer below the branches and almost tumbling into space. Straightening back up, Gabby exclaimed, “Talk about a head rush—the bats are all perched upside down!”
“Reluctantly the four people backed away from the fence, the young man shouting to the young woman and cupping his hand to his ear as if holding a phone. The young woman shook her head yes, then turned to walk back up the coast, holding the small girl’s hand, the uniformed man close behind.
When the young woman looked back over her shoulder one last time, the small girl broke away, sprinting out onto the beach. The young woman raced out and caught the small girl, but not before she had scattered a flock of seagulls into the sky.”
Source: Bat Cave: A Fable of Epidemic Proportions
“Wow, so much to learn!" said Volant the eagle. "Fish-eating bats, pale bats, bats with little ears, bats with long noses, bats with noses that look like leaves… Next thing you know, you’re going to tell me there are bats that drink blood like vampires!”
“There are those, indeed, as well,” said Sully the Leaf-nosed bat.”
Source: Bat Cave: A Fable of Epidemic Proportions
“Some of the guard bats hung from the tall cardón cactus that partially blocked the entrance to the cave; some guard bats hung along the edge of the cave entrance. The presence of these burly guards, along with the big cardón cactus, created a formidable boundary, a wall of sorts that could be used for controlling entry to the cave.
And for the Pallid bats controlling who could enter the cave was precisely the goal.”
Source: Bat Cave: A Fable of Epidemic Proportions