A desert. A Camel, an Ostrich, an Antelope, and a Fox sit by a dead tree in a former oasis.
Camel: Still everything was better before.
Ostrich: Yes, everything was better before.
Antelope: Indeed, everything was much better, much better before.
Fox: When before?
Camel: When everything was still different.
Ostrich: When the things weren’t as they are now.
Antelope: When things were much, much better.
Fox: We have always lived in this desert. What was different before?
Camel: That everything was better.
Ostrich: Yes, everything was better before.
Antelope: Indeed, much, much better…
Fox: (Interrupts the Antelope.)All right then, but what is your problem now? Are you hungry?
Camel: Of course we are hungry.
Ostrich: You bet we are hungry.
Antelope: All of us are very hungry. Aren’t you?
Fox: We are very hungry, but we have always suffered from a shortage of food. Is this the problem? Or has something happened?
Camel: That’s it. Nothing ever happens here. Nobody is interested whether we are even alive or not.
Ostrich: Even the safari trips avoid us.
Antelope: Nobody even hunts us.
Camel: Neither the people, nor the animals.
Ostrich: Indeed, neither the people, nor the animals.
Fox: Do you mind that? That we are not being hunted?
Camel: Before, there was at least something to be afraid of. Wild hordes came and raided our desert.
Ostrich: And then territorial wars came.
Antelope: And people came who caught us and made commercial goods from our skins.
Camel: It was so heavy that even my species weren’t able to carry it.
Ostrich: Yes, before there were big problems and we could bury our head in the sand.
Antelope: Indeed, there was someone to be afraid of. Before.
Camel: Today we can complain only about thirst and hunger.
Ostrich: And about one another. But even this is already past.
Antelope: Indeed, we are not interested even in hating each other.
Camel: We had been hating each other for so long that we eventually began to hate the fact that we hate each other.
Ostrich: And then we began to hate the fact that we hate hating each other.
Antelope: And then we began to hate even that.
Camel: Such life has no sense…
Ostrich: Yes, we have no goal.
Antelope: Indeed, we need someone who would show us the way.
Camel: Who would give us a new goal.
Ostrich: Yes. Who would tell us what to do.
Antelope: Indeed. Who would lead us out of this hopeless prosperity.
Fox: You mean that we need a leader, right?
/.../
translated by Hana Pavelková
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