The dwarf went to the middle of the clearing and began to dance again. I put a record on. It was an old Frank Sinatra record. The dwarf danced, singing “Night and Day” along with Sinatra. I pictured him dancing before the throne. Glittering chandeliers and beautiful ladies-in-waiting, exotic fruits and the long spears of the royal guard, portly eunuchs, the young king in jewel-bedecked robes, the dwarf drenched in sweat but dancing with unbroken concentration: As I imagined the gorgeous scene, I felt that at any moment the roar of the revolution’s cannon would echo from the distance.

The dwarf went on dancing, and I ate my grapes. The sun set, covering the earth in the shadows of the forest. A huge black butterfly the size of a bird cut across the clearing and vanished into the depths of the forest. I felt the chill of the evening air. It was time for my dream to melt away, I knew.

“I guess I have to go now,” I said to the dwarf.

He stopped dancing and nodded in silence.

“I enjoyed watching you dance,” I said. “Thanks a lot.”

“Anytime,” said the dwarf.

“We may never meet again,” I said. “Take care of yourself.”

“Don’t worry,” said the dwarf. “We will meet again.”

“Are you sure?”

“Oh, yes. You’ll be coming back here,” he said with a snap of his fingers. “You’ll live in the forest. And every day you’ll dance with me. You’ll become a really good dancer yourself before long.”

“How do you know?” I asked, taken aback.

“It’s been decided,” he answered. “No one has the power to change what has been decided. I know that you and I will meet again soon enough.”

The dwarf looked right up at me as he spoke. The deepening darkness had turned him the deep blue of water at night.

“Well, then,” he said. “Be seeing you.”

He turned his back to me and began dancing again, alone.

I WOKE UP ALONE. Facedown in bed, I was drenched in sweat. There was a bird outside my window. It seemed different from the bird I was used to seeing there.

I washed my face with great care, shaved, put some bread in the toaster, and boiled water for coffee. I fed the cat, changed its litter, put on a necktie, and tied my shoes. Then I took a bus to the elephant factory.