The Panda's Dream — Lawrence M. Schoen

A Panda on a space station is plagued by dreams and nightmares of an Elephant child. Can a Capybara therapist set him free? Years have passed since the Ailuros Ciochan, a Panda, was relegated from his usual work as a space station cargomaster to spend an afternoon babysitting Pizlo, a six-year-old boy and a Fant (that disgusting race with their hairlessness, the disturbing motion of their trunks, their oversized ears, and their rank odor).Pizlo was only there for a few hours but the trauma of the experience haunts Ciochan. He's having terrifying dreams in which the boy torments him with speciic threats of his family's death.Ciochan has risen in rank and is now stationmaster, and when the Alliance learns that his dreams are making his work suffer they send Bronjo, a Capybara therapist, to aid his mental health.Can she alter his world view and help him to use the figment of his dreams to reshape reality?