The Grey Chameleon                      The Little Heron                      The Storks                      Roz the Pelican                      The Egyptian Vulture                      The Polar Fox                      The Flamingo                      The Carpet Snake                      The Honey Buzzard                      Eddy the Wolf                      Epilogue

Pelicans fall madly in love. Herons hide on bookshelves. Birds of prey go on hunger strike. Flamingoes in their loneliness find consolation in their reflection in the mirror. Snakes and wolves make monkeys of us with their tricks till they find their freedom. Polar foxes which, while vainly waiting for snow in Aigina, amuse themselves by stealing our cigarettes. Wounded storks experience the bliss of passionate love and the disappointment of childnessness. Chameleons remind us of the many-hued variety of seasons and sentiments. And a vulture becomes God's infinite eye to its prospective prey. This strange pelican-world of Philip Dragoumis is filled with the scandals, the surprises, the emotions and the tricks of wild animals, which however close to humans they live fortunately never become completely tame. When they fly away or otherwise return to their old haunts they forget their sojourn with humans, immersing themselves again in the wisdom of their native liberty. The ten stories included here will make us smile, will make us sad, or will simply lead us to accept how "foolish and entirely unnecessary" we continue to be.