The Island of Ziz
Translated by Askold Melnyczuk
I.
The Island of Ziz near Arcanumia is inhabited by warbling dogs. These rare beasts sit on branches and sing like birds. They also lay eggs. They do not, however, build nests. Instead, they simply let their eggs drop from under their wooly tails to the ground. Because the eggs land in the excrement with which the dogs themselves have covered everything, they don’t break. They lie there, warming peacefully. For that matter, these eggs differ from all others because of their hairy shells. When you put one to your ear, you can hear some shred of carrion growling and frisking about.
The entire island is in fact a mound of s**t: new s**t got piled on old s**t and the result is this shitty island with a shitty landscape the color of s**t. It’
