Billy falls asleep reading Mr. Ripley's book, and dreams that Ripley introduces him to a variety of oddities, including Christian Heineken, child prodigy of Germany, the remarkable globefish, remoras attaching themselves to sharks, the skate fish with faces that seem human, an oak tree in New York that grew from a riding stick, Japanese "dancing mice", a man with a suit made from Confederate currency, a rocking chair made from food cans, a two-headed turtle, a women's football team in Louisville, a man drawing with his feet and hands while balancing batons on his arms and head, and a cat that smokes cigarettes.