The Jungle Music Box

Mira is a young explorer who wanders through the green jungle wearing her yellow rain hat, with a silver recorder on a string around her neck and a notebook, a smooth stone and a feather in her pockets. Beneath a fern she hears a tiny, sad creak and finds a small wooden box with painted blue wings, a brass key on its back and two shiny black bead eyes. The box introduces itself as Pip, a music box that has forgotten the songs of the rainforest — the birdsong, the rain and the rustle of leaves.

Wanting to help, Mira sets out with Pip to gather the jungle's sounds. A talkative toucan named Tuko, who calls himself the best singer in the jungle, leads her to a chorus of morning birds and a family of bright green parrots, and Mira records every note. When the rain begins to fall, Tuko points the way to the Rain Spirit near the waterfall, a tiny droplet-like creature crowned with dewdrops who teaches Mira to hear the soft patter on leaves and the tinkle of drops in a puddle. This gentle tale by Yavuz DEMİRKIRAN can be read on Online Masal.