False Dawn

My flash fiction response to "Writing Challenge: Using an Absurd Prompt" from page 25 of "Wonderbook The Illustrated Guide To Creating Imaginative Fiction" by Jeff Vandermeer.
In this challenge, a pen-and-ink drawing depicting a man in a cassock, standing with birds on his shoulders at left, intensely contemplating an unusual creature (perhaps part fish, frog, and bat) apparently singing or speaking at the right. The challenge is simply to respond to this visual prompt.