The Dog-Men Explain Your Choice In The Mountain King’s Garden is a retelling of a Romani myth. A thief is caught stealing fruit from the Mountain King’s garden, and is chased by the dog-men who guard his golden trees. The thief runs faster than the dog-men and escapes their teeth, so they call on the Moon to curse him as he leaves the garden. The thief is changed by the Moon’s magic, and they live the rest of their life as another gender.



If we move away from thinking of trans-ness as punishment, what do we find? Perhaps the thief wanted to change. Perhaps the dog-men are our guardians and guides, and only show their teeth to push us forward. Perhaps our trans-ness is a divine gift. Say we keep the fruit, too. Perhaps trans people are loved and divine and deserve the world.