Seventeen stories gallop, frolic, and slither across the pages of this 
collection. Sometimes inspiring, sometimes fatalistic, but always 
lyrical and thought-provoking, Domecq examines the human 
condition from a unique viewpoint.

    A pet canary is caught between her nesting instinct and her 
desire for solitude. A jaguar is guardian spirit to a middle-aged 
woman. And in the title story, a young girl is transformed during 
recess into a wild stallion.

    These and other tales, told with irony, wit, and compassion, keep 
the reader on the bittersweet edge between tragedy and comedy. 
Kay Garcia's free-flowing translation makes the reader forget that 
the narrative was not originally written in English.

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BRIANDA DOMECQ, regarded as one of Mexico's leading writers, 
was born in the United States but has lived most of her life in 
Mexico. In 1978 she was kidnapped and held hostage, an 
experience she fictionalizes in her novel, Eleven Days. Her second 
novel, The Astonishing Story of the Saint of Cabora, is the story of 
faith healer Teresa de Urrea. Domecq has also published short 
stories, an autobiography, and a collection of essays on Latin 
American women writers. She currently lives in Spain.

KAY (KAYLA) S. GARCIA is associate professor of Spanish at 
Oregon State University, the author of Broken Bars: New 
Perspectives from Mexican Women Writers and the translator 
of Brianda Domecq's two novels. She lived in Mexico for seven 
years and in Spain for two years.