A Wild Sheep Chase

by Haruki Murakami

“They stay put indoors all winter long,” said the caretaker, at last turning his eyes back to the road. “Don’t they get bored?” “Do you get so bored with your own life?” “I can’t really say.” “Well, the same with sheep,” said the caretaker. “They don’t think about stuff like that, and it wouldn’t do ’em any good if they did. They just pass the winter eating hay, pissing, getting into spats, thinking about the babies in their bellies.”