BOOK REVIEW STORIES FOR NIGHTTIME AND SOME FOR THE DAY By Ben Loory Penguin, 210 pp., paperback, $15

“Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day’’ contains 40 featherweight fables, with a diverse cast of characters that includes erudite octopi, menacing hats, and lovestruck ducks. To say that disbelief must be suspended to appreciate Loory’s work would be an understatement; utter credulity is required. His stories have the maundering, free-associative quality of dreams, and follow their own peculiar logic.