“You are right—the ocean is higher,” said Crag. “My grandfather used to say that, long ago, this island was not an island at all. It was a mountain surrounded by flatlands. And then the ground shook, and the oceans grew, and the land slowly flooded until the mountain became this island. Animals from far and wide were forced to come here to escape the floodwaters. In those early days, there were too many animals living in too small a place. The island did not have enough food to feed them all. But between fighting and disease and famine, a balance was finally reached. And we have kept the
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