Inside an egg-shaped den, a small monster with emerald scales is born. After the golden-beaked parent finishes laboring, it bites off one of its offspring’s limbs and falls asleep. The injury is painful, but eventually the small monster’s leg regrows. The parent brings food to the small monster and it develops teeth, horns, and claws. But when food is scares, the parent feeds on the small monster again. The small monster asks why the parent continues to feed on it and the parent explains that it is hungry and it is the parent. Then the parent has another baby monster. The small monster hides in the den and allows the parent to feed on the new offspring instead, even though its painful to hear its cries. 

The small monster isn’t supposed to leave the den, but one day it pokes its head out and meets a tawny monster. This hairy monster invites small monster to come live with it and promises that it will only feed on the small monster once a month. The small monster agrees and is carried off in the jaws of the tawny monster. The tawny monster keeps its promise for a while, but eventually it feeds on the small monster and enjoys the taste. It starts eating small monster more often.

A razor bird comes along and offers a new bargain: it will carry the small monster far away in exchange for the small monster’s leg and tongue. The small monster agrees. The razor bird feasts on the small monster and then leaves it inside a rotting tree. The small monster comes across a rat-nosed monster that’s been seriously wounded. It helps nurse the injured monster back to health. But once the rat-nosed monster is well again, it lunges at the small monster and feeds on it. The small monster decides to fight back. It kills the rat-nosed monster and eats it. 

The small monster goes to the sea where it meets a small clawed creature that likes to make art. The clawed creature decorates small monster’s scales with sea glass and gold coins scavenged from a ship wreck. The small monster feels protected by its new armor and lives a peaceful life by the sea, until its sibling appears. The sibling claims that the small monster owes it a debt for letting their parent feast on its limbs. The two monsters fight, but the sibling can’t get through small monster’s armor so it wanders back into the woods, frustrated.

The small monster swims further south. Its parent appears and says the small monster belongs to it. The parent attacks and knocks off small monster’s armor. But the small monster isn’t so small anymore. It fights back and throws its parent to the ground, goring the parent badly. The parent retreats into the woods.

The clawed creature repairs and adds to the small monster’s armor. Then the tawny monster arrives on the beach. It tells the small monster that it has killed and eaten the small monster’s parent and sibling. Tawny monster strips small monster’s armor and eats one of its legs. The small monster swims out into the ocean and is able to drag the tawny monster under water and drown it. The clawed creature helps small monster heal from yet another battle. Eventually, the razor bird appears on the beach and feasts on the tawny monster’s carcass. It observes that small monster has learned to be sharp and difficult to swallow. 

The clawed creature tells the small monster that it can create things too. The small monster is inspired and decides to build an island. It drags boulders and earth and grass out into the sea and constructs a new land mass. When its finished, the small monster says it will build more islands and create a peaceful sanctuary for it and the clawed creature.