Jorge Luis Borges asks us to imagine a certain encyclopedia, in which animals are divided into (a) those that belong to the emperor; (b) embalmed ones; (c) those that are trained; (d) suckling pigs; (e) mermaids; (f) fabulous ones; (g) stray dogs; (h) those that are included in this classification; (i) those that tremble as if they were mad; (j) innumerable ones; (k) those drawn with a very fine camel-hair brush; (l) etcetera; (m) those that have just broken the flower vase; (n) those that at a distance resemble flies.