I read this story in an anthology in the late 1970s. It may or may not have been geared towards young adolescents. The story could be 10 or 20 years older than that, maybe even more, but almost certainly post-WWII.
The Story (as remembered):
Children at a boarding school, perhaps only boys, are keeping small fictional animals as pets. The creatures come from an odd or unknown source. I believe the beasts were described as small, blind, possibly furry, and lacking defenses such as teeth or claws. The animals are making high-pitched or telepathic screams that another classmate (or classmates) is sensing. It slowly emerges that the youth are somehow torturing the creatures, perhaps sexually. The ending was disturbing, and vague... (or is that just my memory?)
The story was rather literary in style, a bit like low science fiction or low fantasy, but mostly just strange.
The Story (as remembered):
Children at a boarding school, perhaps only boys, are keeping small fictional animals as pets. The creatures come from an odd or unknown source. I believe the beasts were described as small, blind, possibly furry, and lacking defenses such as teeth or claws. The animals are making high-pitched or telepathic screams that another classmate (or classmates) is sensing. It slowly emerges that the youth are somehow torturing the creatures, perhaps sexually. The ending was disturbing, and vague... (or is that just my memory?)
The story was rather literary in style, a bit like low science fiction or low fantasy, but mostly just strange.
