The Little Bee-Eater

In the warm hills where the sun shines bright, a cheerful little bee-eater with emerald green feathers, a turquoise throat and a golden chest spends his days darting through the air and catching bees with a quick snap of his long, curved beak. One morning he notices a new bird on the ground: a hoopoe with a cinnamon-orange body, black and white striped wings and a tall fan-shaped crest, patiently digging in the soil for grubs. The two begin to talk, compare their very different ways of finding food, and soon become fast friends, each admiring the talent the other possesses.

Curious about what lies beyond their hills, the pair fly off together and discover a hidden orchard, heavy with ripe apples, pears and cherries but fenced in by thick bushes and tall grass. The bee-eater's sharp eyes and quick wings cannot open the way, and the hoopoe's steady digging alone cannot reach the highest branches, so the two friends combine their skills: a tunnel under the bushes, fruit tapped down from the branches, a tree gently shaken by a long beak, and a path widened so the harvest can roll through. Written by Aysel Banu YAVUZAL, this gentle tale can be read on Masal İzle.