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Some Very Short Stories and Poems by Isar MargulisTranslated by Michael Shkodnikov 

GUSTAVO

Gustavo came to me. Long time no see.He had turned into a huge butterfly the size of a Galapagos tortoise.I told him straight away not to come closer in his present form.Then all sorts of frogs appeared, don’t know where from, fallen from the skies,perhaps.I told Gustavo that since he’s a monster now, he’d better eat them.Do something for his old buddies. 

COCKROACHES NO LONGER ASTRAY

In the days when we were young we used to leave for the bugs a bowlful of oldcoins that were out of circulation but still sparkled in the sun. Normally, only cockroaches came. Sometimes we saw beetles, but they rarely showed up. Thegood thing about it was that when a bowl with some coins in it was laid on theporch, the cockroaches no longer ran confused all over the place. They wouldgo over to the bowl and play with the coins in the sunlight.

 TWO  TERRORISTS

He was two suicide terrorists. The first time he killed himself by jumping off 

from a tall tower, and likewise the second. Falling, he raised his arms, lettingthe wind stroke his armpits, relishing every moment of it. That’s theadvantage of dreams, there isn’t much distance between one thing and thenext. Everything happens in a split of a second, miles of time being saved. Andthere’s more to it, except that this dream is wiped out by its sequel.

PROSELYTING

 When Our Father Abraham went to make us a Home, he went walking alongthe road and proselyting. Give him any old son of a queer religion, and he

 would make a Jew out of him. Once he saw a faction of canines by the side of the road and, mean time he dreaded them, he settled himself among them.

 After a while he said unto them, “I’m just like you, you mustn’t think that by  being a biped I have less caninity in me.” Then he turned to each dogindividually, checking who among them is willing to have his fireman cut sothat he might become a Jew.

HERZLIAH

I took the bus to Herzliah. The city was entirely of concrete, but access to the

sea had been restricted. Halfway there, Herzliah was set off by a blast. A certain scientist had warned prior to the explosion, but was reassured that

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there would be a tiny bit of dead leaves sent flying. I turned myself into afalcon. I had nothing to do in blasting Herzliah anymore, I wondered if I couldget to the Mountains of Menasheh. People were talking about me, saying,“What has he got? fingers in his hands. Nobody has ever managed to soar upin the air with that.”