Chapter 12 Summary

This chapter recounts the story contained in one of the books Anodos read. He is unsure whether the story was written entirely in prose or partly in verse, and so Anodos reproduces it in a mixture of both styles. The book describes a world very much like Earth, except that only the men have arms, while the women have wings. Babies are found by wandering maidens rather than born.

The color of the wings of the women and of the babies is determined by the season in which they are born. Anodos is fascinated by the changing colors of this world. The rate with which colors change is determined by time of day, a person's mood, or the weather. Anodos writes of a conversation he had with several men and women regarding the difference in birthing methods between this planet and his own...