THERE WERE NO MORE than five of any animal. It was not something that was obvious. She only started counting them because she had nothing better to do. It came as a shock to her that there were so few. She had always assumed that their numbers were infinite. But even the garden was growing smaller. Before, it too had seemed without limits, but now she could walk across it in less than an hour. The rivers, which before had stretched to the horizon, had become mere trickles that disappeared quickly into the sand. When the serpent finally found her, she could not reject his offer.

                                           from THE SERPENTS
                                           Bob Heman