Unserious postmodern paintings.

The herring had spent its life avoiding attention, drifting just below the surface of notice, until one Tuesday it realized it had…

The insect had been waiting for its permit to move since 08:13. It had filed Form 7B-Δ three times, each rejected for…

The garganey had earned three postdoctoral fellowships in wetland ecology before realizing no university would hire a bird with a PhD in…

The hummingbird had believed, with the fervor of a creature whose metabolism runs on hope, that today’s nectar would be sweeter than…

The angelfish had been rewritten yesterday — not by evolution, but by a clerical error in the interdepartmental memo on aquatic taxonomy.…

The fish had not flown in years, not since the last time it mistook a laundry line for a current and ended…

The osprey had submitted its quarterly nest expansion proposal three weeks ago and was still waiting for feedback. It had optimized its…

The widowbird had not moved since the tea went cold. It had watched the steam rise, then vanish, then waited for the…

The leopard had been waiting for precisely 17 minutes and 3 seconds — not because it was late, but because the appointment…

The shrew had promised to arrive at precisely 4:15 p.m. for the monthly gathering of the Society for Punctual Rodents, but a…

The friarbird had been promoted three weeks ago, after a particularly efficient worm-sorting incident during the third quarter. It now arrived at…

The dollarbird had spent seventeen years trying to be exceptional at perching. It studied posture manuals, attended weekend workshops on avian stillness,…