The Girl and the Owl

Maya puts on her green rubber boots and red raincoat for a night walk in the woods, hoping to hear owls for the very first time. At the meeting point she meets Ruth, a tall ranger in an olive-green jacket covered with badges, who gives the group a list of owl calls and explains that the birds talk to one another. Ruth stresses that everyone must stay quiet and keep their distance so the owls do not become frightened and fly away. Maya takes this to heart, wanting the owls to feel safe.

Following a woodland path between tall trees, the group walks with softly glowing torches. Ruth raises her hand, and a soft, quivering call comes through the wind. A red beam of light shows a round-headed tawny owl in the branches, and Ruth explains how the female and male answer each other. Later, a small owl with bright yellow eyes whistles from a fence post. Maya learns to tell the calls apart and hears the night as a kind of owl music. This gentle tale by Çınar BİBER can be read on Masalcı Baba.