The Owl and the Falcon
by Onu Oremun
A Picture book sans beaucoup d’images.
On the East side of the forest, lived a very wise and admirable Great Horned Owl. He was very wise because he had read many books and always said the most insightful things. And he was very admirable because he was very artistically talented. He could play a variety of instruments, and made the most mystical music. All the other birds loved him.
On the West side of the forest, lived a very wild and adventurous Peregrine Falcon. She was very wild because she preferred doing her own thing and thus, did not always know how to behave well around other birds. And she was very adventurous because she was very curious. She loved to find and collect mysterious looking things. She baffled all the other birds.
Then one day when Falcon began to blindly follow a slithering snake, she heard Owl’s mystical music. Immediately, she turned her course and flew above the forest to find where the magical sound came from.
With her sharp eyes, she spotted Owl under a mighty maple tree, playing songs for a large sitting audience. She dove down and landed right in front of his crowd.
Owl’s drum beat in the rhythm of her heart. She stood perplexed at the amazing bird before her. A new feeling ruffled her every feather. She began to dance and twirl about. Some of the audience whispered and some watched. But Falcon lost all awareness and only heard Owl.
When the music stopped, the audience clapped and cheered. Falcon came out of her dream-like state and hopped right up to Owl. Suddenly, she became very nervous and her words didn’t come out the way she hoped,
“Hello…ahhh…How?…I…”
At first, Owl was startled. In all his life, he had never seen a bird in such wild disarray. But her wide-eyes and funny speech made him smile,
“Bonjour, Mademoiselle. Je m’appelle Hibou. Tu n’es pas d’ici. What is your name?”
“Oh! I am Falcon from the West. Excuse me, Hibou…I –“
But the crowd swept Hibou away from Falcon. She would have followed him, but strangely she felt immobile. So Falcon just watched Owl go until she could no longer see him.
Before she left, Hibou’s instruments caught Falcon’s eye. They looked very mysterious to her, especially one in particular. A guitar. Falcon decided to take this guitar home.
Then every day after that, she tried very hard to make the sound that Hibou made. And every day, she tried to learn to speak the Eastern language that Hibou spoke. She did this because she wanted to meet curious creatures like Hibou. And also, Falcon really wanted to meet Hibou again. She hoped he wanted to see her.
Then every day after that, Hibou tried very hard to read and play music but he was too restless. And every day, he went on trips to other parts of the forest. He did this because he wanted to meet intriguing creatures like Falcon. And also, Hibou really wanted to meet Falcon again. He hoped to get his guitar back.
