The Eyes and the Impossible

Johannes goes into the bison’s enclosure. He feels safe and at home with Freya, who reassures him, “You won’t see those travelers again [...] You must forget them” (73). The dog shares his plan to free the bison. Freya and Samuel are amused by the suggestion and point out that they are free to do as they please. Meredith, on the other hand, contends that she would like more room to run around even though she never runs. Johannes remains certain that “heroic interspecies cooperation” can liberate the bison just as it freed him (75). As he begins to formulate a plan, he reasons that, for the bison to be free forever, they will have to escape from the city and travel beyond the sea.

Over the next weeks, Johannes continues to work on his plan. He asks for Bertrand’s input, but ultimately goes back to scheming by himself when the gull suggests that they transport the bison through the air with the help of the park’s ducks, whom everyone knows to be fools. Johannes’s plan involves acting at night when there are fewer keepers near the bison’s pen and having Sonja and the squirrels create a diversion while Angus uses his dexterous hands to open the gate. Next, Johannes plans to lead the bison through the woods so they can avoid “lamplight or moonlight or roads” on their way to the beach (79). The dog realizes that he isn’t sure whether Freya, Meredith, and Samuel have ever seen the sea.

Johannes continues to observe the construction of the new building in the plaza each day, but he is unable to ascertain the structure’s purpose. The dog feels concerned that his lack of knowledge on the subject will damage the bison’s faith in him. He also worries that the bison and the other animals in the park are correct in thinking that he is “traumatized, or somehow affected, or somehow less-than-[he]-was before” ever since his captivity (81). One morning, Bertrand pays a rare visit to Johannes’s lair. The gull informs his friend that the new building is full of rectangles like the ones that were displayed in the plaza. Johannes knows that he wouldn’t be allowed in the museum, but Bertrand has conferred with the other Assistant Eyes and promises, “[W]e’re going to get you into that building no matter what” (82). The gull is certain that this will help Johannes feel like his old self again.

Johannes wishes to inspect the art museum. He approaches the building with a mixture of wariness and shame, determined to ensure that “no one [can] sneak up on [him] ever again” (84). The dog watches from the woods as two humans deliver an enormous painting that depicts a crowd of humans wearing crowns in a landscape filled with trees. Johannes is awed by the painting’s beauty, but he averts his gaze because he’s afraid of being vulnerable again.

Johannes sees a toddler all alone on the bridge over the pond near the museum. The dog instinctively moves closer to the child because he senses that she is in danger. When the girl falls into the water, Johannes leaps in after her and pulls her to the edge of the pond. He can’t lift her onto the shore, so he barks until humans notice them and pull them both from the water. As Johannes watches a doctor try to revive the girl, he feels that the child’s face could leave him “hypnotized again as [he] had been by the picture” (92). He runs back to his lair before the humans can catch him. He recites his beliefs about the sun and the clouds to soothe himself.

Johannes hides in his lair because he’s afraid that the child may be dead and that he will be found. Bertrand assures him that the toddler is alive and informs him that humans took pictures of “the hero dog” (94). Bertrand and Johannes realize that this incident will bring a lot of attention to him, which may seriously interfere with his freedom and his role as the Eyes.

Two days after Johannes rescues the toddler, the dog intends to leave his lair. However, two raccoons warn him that the park is full of humans searching for him, including Control-the-Animals people with cages and tranquilizer guns. Bertrand tells Johannes that a storm is coming and encourages him to stay inside for another day. As he hides in his lair, the dog reflects upon the unfairness of his situation and thinks, “Stopping meant captivity. Helping meant captivity” (97). He reminds himself that the Assistant Eyes saved him from the Trouble Travelers. In a way, the complexity of life reassures him. He falls asleep as rain pelts the park.

Johannes stays in his lair and sleeps for weeks. One day, he awakens and sees Bertrand, Yolanda, and Sonja waiting outside. The dog is glad to see his friends and to feel the sun on his face again. The Assistant Eyes tell him that all of the animals in the park miss him and that the bison would like him to resume his work as the Eyes. Because the park is full of signs with pictures of Johannes, his friends have prepared a disguise for him. He considers the pink dog sweater and the rhinestone-studded collar “an attack on all that was good and right” (104). Bertrand convinces Johannes to try the clothes on by reminding him how much thought and care his friends put into this plan. With the help of Angus’s opposable thumbs, the dog dons his disguise. Bertrand shows him his ridiculous reflection in a piece of glass, and the dog sees that the costume will work.

Bertrand acts as a lookout while Johannes tests out his disguise. For the first time in weeks, the dog races to the beach. He’s pleasantly surprised that the sweater warms him without restricting his movement. Bertrand watches admiringly as an ill seagull performs a ritual called the coda in which a bird takes its final flight and then perishes by falling into the sea from a great height. The dog disapproves and refuses to watch the coda because a flightless bird could still “enjoy just about everything about this singular and precious life” (114).

When Johannes and Bertrand return to the park, they see that a crowd has gathered to celebrate the art museum’s grand opening. The dog gazes through the window and becomes entranced by an abstract painting that looks as though it has been “dipped in midnight” (117). His fascination with the art attracts attention from nearby humans, and Bertrand warns him that they should leave. The dog weaves his way through the crowd and goes to an open space near a glass building full of flowers. Two Control-the-Animals people with leashes try to catch Johannes, but he escapes into the woods. Bertrand expresses concern about the effect that the rectangles have on his friend, but the gull remains determined to sneak him into the museum, an act he believes may be his higher purpose.

During the next week, Johannes sleeps inside his lair while Bertrand and the other Assistant Eyes plan how to sneak the dog into the art museum. On Mondays, the museum is closed to the public, and there are only a few employees inside at any given time. Bertrand and Yolanda plan to fly to the top floor and create a diversion so that Johannes can explore the rest of the building. The dog has “a terrible premonition” that one of the birds will be caught (124), but they plan to have raccoons distract the Control-the-Animals people so they can fly away.