Scientists who study the brain activity of humans during REM sleep (rapid eye movement) often ask their human subjects what they dreamed about in order to decipher what the brain activity patterns mean. Birds also exhibit signs of REM sleep. So, are they dreaming? What about reptiles? Researchers have also monitored REM in this class of wildlife.

So accepting that animals do dream, the encounter between the two species depicted in ‘Unscheduled Departure’ will give each something to keep their minds occupied during periods of rest. For the northern bobwhite quail the dream would likely take the form of a nightmare given such a close encounter with a predator. For the gray ratsnake. would the dream be shaped by frustration or disappointment resulting from an unsuccessful hunt for quail eggs or chicks? Or would it be something else entirely?
We will probably never know, but the answer just might come to us in a dream.