Dear Diary,
    Last night while working at the bar on Cape Verde Island, I heard the strangest story. This big man was telling a story about some birdlike creatures he had seen. They looked miniature dogs with wings. He said that a group of them had landed on his ship during his watch hour during the middle of the night.
   They hadn't bothered him until he tried to call the rest of the ship to see. He had let them fish for a while, while he looked on in amazement. He then thought that the captain and crew would want to see them. When he went to call them, one came out of nowhere and attacked him, tearing his leg up leaving him lying on the ground bleeding. While lying in a pool of blood, he watched as they fluttered off into the horizon. The man said he laid there until the next watch came. When the watch that came to replace him saw his condition, he immediately ran and got the ship's doctor. The tear almost killed him from blood loss and the doctor said that he should say his good byes to the rest of the crew because it was unlikely that he would survive. After having to have ten stitches and being bedridden for two months, he ended up not dying. The doctor even said that he would be able to sail again if he wanted.
   The person sitting on the stool next to him, in the bar, didn't believe it and told him that if it were true, he would have a scar from the incident. The sailor lifted his pant leg and we all saw the foot long tear mark. I am amazed that there could be such a creature.
   Got to go... the cook found out that Iım working in a bar and makes me help serve dinners on the ship. He says that Iım the only one qualified enough to carry food without dropping it.

Bewildered,       
Sipho