The homes of the Bulbul birds are being taken over by the Myna Birds. With the help of the other birds of the world, the Bulbuls invite the Mynas to a dance challenge.
Inspired by the war on Gaza and South Lebanon, this is a story about solidarity and justice.
The verse in the story is taken from the song Alya’di by Suheil Khoury.
Check out this story in Arabic here.
Once upon a time, back when the animals could speak, there was a little Bulbul bird called Bulbulita. Bulbulita and her family lived in Horsh Beirut all year round, just as her Bulbul ancestors had lived on this land for centuries. When the visiting birds migrated to the Horsh in the winter the Bulbuls welcomed them. They twitched their heads this way and that and sang to them in their loud and playful way. (Bulbul Whistle)
On a warm spring day, little Bulbulita sits in her nest hidden safely in the thorny palm tree. She watches her mama and papa fluff up their feathers and preen and clean each other with their beaks. Suddenly, A big flock of beautiful birds, 1,000 strong, fly mightily above them showing off their white wing patches. They are the Mynas, they come from another land far away. They have come to live in Horsh Beirut. Bulbulita notices their yellow lined eyes for she too has a splash of yellow at the bottom of her belly. As the days go by, she notices how the Myna copies and imitates the different bird songs and the voice of people talking (Heyllo x2). Bulbuilita is amazed! She also hears the grown-up birds whisper in fear, for the Mynas are known to take over other birds’ nests.
One day, Bulbulita sits in her nest hidden safely in the thorny palm tree. She waits for her mama and papa to bring her some strawberries, spiders and caterpillars to eat. Bulbulita flaps her wings practicing to fly. Suddenly, she sees a group of Myna birds heading straight at her. One of them opens its mouth to grab her.
Oh no! What should I do?! screams Bulbulita.
She still has not learned to fly so she is too afraid to fly away.
The Myna’s get closer, and the mouth grows bigger and bigger and bigger and is heading straight at Bulbulita. Bulbulita closes her eyes and jumps out of the nest and flaps her wings as hard as she can. She dives, flaps and flutters (x2) and makes it to her mama and papa just in time. Hff…
Meanwhile the Myna birds start pecking away at Bulbulita’s nest. Peck peck peck until the nest is destroyed. They start fighting the Bulbuls and taking their nests as their homes. The Mynas are sneaky. They attack all together with their strong feet and imitate the Bulbuls song (Bulbul whistle). The Bulbuls are taken by surprise. The Mynas chase away the Bulbuls from tree to tree to tree. Bulbulita and her fellow Bulbuls try to push the Mynas back. They take one step forward, and are pushed two steps back. Another step forward, and are pushed three steps back. Another step forward then four steps back! Another step forward and then five steps back! The might of the Mynas is so great that finally, the Bulbuls are left with one tree in all of Horsh Beirut to live in. The Strawberry Tree. But this tree is not big enough for all the Bulbuls. It does not have enough room for new nests and new baby Bulbuls. It does not have enough fruits and insects to feed all the Bulbuls. The Bulbuls stick together, sharing their homes and food with everyone. But they are getting weak and tired and some start fighting each other for a bite to eat or for a place to rest.
The birds of Horsh Beirut are surprised and shocked at what is happening to Bulbul. Some birds are so scared of the Myna that they do nothing. Some birds want to be strong and powerful like the Myna and join them in chasing the Bulbuls. And some birds are so angry and upset: This is not fair, they protest, the land is wide and plentiful and there is room enough for all of us. The Buzzards and the crows, friends of the Bulbul, keep guard in the skies above the lone Bulbul Tree. Every time they see the Myna’s coming, they swoop down together and scare the Mynas away. The red breasted Robin asks Bulbul, How can we help? The Bulbuls tell them, Spread our story all over the world. So when the Robin migrates in the spring, in every country they fly to they spread the story of the Bulbuls to all the birds of the world.
The following autumn, a magical thing happens. The skies are filled with birds of all shapes and colors. They fly from every corner of the earth, from near and from far until they reach the lone Bulbul tree in Horsh Beirut. They are all here to help the Bulbul. The tall and slender White Storks with their mighty wings come from Africa, the funky haired Hoopoes come from Asia and the Geese with their spiky beaks and tongues as sharp as knives come from Canada.
Now that they are many, all the birds of the world meet together to see what they can do: The Storks suggest they flap their mighty wings and blow the Mynas away. The Hoopoes suggest they spray a stinky smell all over the Mynas nest. Let’s do this, no, no let’s do that, shout the birds! Finally, the Bulbuls suggest they call the Myna’s to a dance challenge. A dance challenge, whisper the birds. They all laugh so hard! What a brilliant idea! In the days that follow the Bulbuls teach the other birds their traditional dabkeh dance. Bulbulita is a great dabkeh dancer, and even though she is small, she teaches the big Buzzards and Storks how to dance the dabkeh.
When they are all ready, they invite the Mynas to a dance challenge at sunrise the following morning at the old Strawberry tree. A dance challenge! whisper the Mynas in surprise. They laugh so hard. We Myna’s cannot be defeated by a dance challenge.
The following day at sunrise, the Myna birds arrive at the Greek Strawberry tree. 3,2,1, the dance begins. The Bulbul’s and their friends dance together in unison, raising their voices so loud it echoes far and wide, stomping the earth so hard that it shakes beneath their feet:
عاليادي اليادي اليادي
محلى جبالك يا بلادي
محلى سهولك والغابات
والتلة والوادي
The Myna birds are taken by surprise. They try to stomp forward. They take one step forward, and are pushed two steps back. Another step forward, and are pushed three steps back. Another step forward then four steps back! Another step forward, and then five steps back! Until they are all pushed to the entrance of Horsh Beirut.
The Bulbuls and their friends gather all their strength and with a loud joyous cry stomp forward. The Myna’s flap and flutter until every last one of them stumbles outside the Horsh. They fly far far away.
Next spring, Bulbulita is all grown up and has a family of her own. At bedtime, all 4 of her little fledglings cuddle around her as she tells them the story of the Great Big Dabkeh challenge. How the birds of the world came together in dance. And how the land is wide and plentiful and big enough for all. The 4 little fledglings understood that the Bulbul birds stick together and stand up for what is right. It has been like that from the time of their ancestors up until this very day.
This is the end of this story and the beginning of another…
