In the Hyacinth Macaw – a Lullaby for the 20th century, Wellman focuses his wild linguistic absurdities and sharp insight into American Culture on the story of Mr. Hard, a traveler who carries a letter to a family living in Bug River. This causes Ray, the father of the family to wake up to an unpleasant reality and depart in a grand flourish. After Ray leaves, his wife Dora becomes tired of it all and takes off with a mad Chinese mystic. The daughter Susannah is left alone with the traveler and together they bury the moon.