The Bestiary

PENGUIN

Aptenodytes

The Penguin, also called the Bird That Cannot Fly, dwells in the ice-bound wastes of the Antarctic, where no ordinary creature may survive. It wears a coat of black and white, as if dressed for eternal mourning or perpetual celebration - scholars debate which. The Penguin walks upright like a man, yet swims like a fish, suggesting that God made it from the leftover parts of His creation. Parents share the burden of warming their single egg upon their feet, teaching us that marriage is a partnership of equals. When Penguins gather in their thousands, they form a living city, demonstrating that even in the harshest wilderness, community sustains life.