Summary

The story begins with Marcel Pretre, a French explorer, venturing into a forest in equatorial Africa. He discovered a group of pygmies, and as he went deeper into the mountain, he learned that another group of pygmies was home to the smallest woman on Earth. When the explorer found the smallest woman in the world, he noticed that she was pregnant. To retain “order” (176), he named her Little Flower.

Little Flower’s group of pygmies is known as “Likoualas” (176). The Likoualas are threatened by Bantus, who use stealth to hunt and eat the Likoualas. Thus, the Likoualas’ existence is threatened daily. Likouala women are tasked with cooking, gathering, and grinding vegetables, and the men are tasked with hunting.

When the explorer named Little Flower, Little Flower scratched herself “where a person doesn’t scratch” (172), and the explorer looked away instinctively. The explorer took...