Copyright 1998 -- Robert Baer Jr. PROLOGUE Did you ever wonder what would've happened if the whole world had "gone to the birds?" IT HAS, in BirdWorld! This is the continuing story of Robin Mallory, hard working radio station manager, loving wife and mother. How is she handlng all this responsibility? Why not ask "Chipper" Birdwell, Robin's dad about her? He always has more than a few words to say about Robin, doesn't he? BirdWorld -- "Christmas Play" We find old Chipper hanging up some last minute Christmas decorations outside on his birdhouse. "Hello there!" he says warmly,"I just had to put up this last string of colored lights, I know what your thinking, why did I need yet another group of lights up when I had SO many of them up already? The answer is simple, because I just wanted to add that special finishing touch to make my lights display perfect! I like making that extra effort in order to improve the way my lights display looks! That's kinda what happaned last night at the school's Christmas play! My grandson James was selected to be the stage manager, in charge of all the props, lighting, and sound. At first, I thought that boy wouldn't take his "job" very seriously, especially after that first night of play practice when he put all those whoppie cushions out on the stage! I'd give him a good spanking for that if I hadn't been laughing so hard! His teacher gave him another chance and James proudly bragged that on the night of the play, he'd have the BEST lighting and special effects ever! I must admit I was a bit nervous sitting out there in the audience that evening. I sat right beside Robin and Joe, they were so proud of all their children! All four of the Mallory children Zoe, Nancy, Chuck and James had parts in the play. The curtain rose for the first act, Nancy Mallory, the play's narrarator, began to set the scene,"this is the story of the first Christmas which happaned almost 2000 years ago in the villiage of Bethlehem in the Holy Land. There came a decree from Rome that everyone in the Empire was to be counted for taxation purposes. Everyone was to go to their place of birth to be recorded by the Roman authorities. Among those who had to travel to their birthplace in Bethlehem was Joseph and his wife Mary, who was with child." When Nancy had said these words, two birds walked slowly across the stage, dressed in traditional Biblical robes. "THAT'S MY ZOE UP THERE!" I shouted with excitement as many in crowd shouted "Shhhhhhh" and "Sit Down!" Even my Robin poked me with her wing and whispered,"settle down, dad." Nancy continued the story,"that night, when Mary and Joseph came to the city, they found no room in any of the inns to spend the night. So many others had come for the 'head count' that all the rooms were full! Finally, an innkeeper told the young couple that they could spend the night in his stable out in the back of his building. Mary and Joseph were so delighted, at least now they had a place to sleep for the night!" Everyone left the stage as three birds dressed as shepards entered. "HEY, THERE'S MY CHUCK! HI CHUCK!" I yelled, frantically waving my wings. "Sit down, dad!" Robin shouted,"you're embarrassing us!" More sounds of "Shhhhhhhh" from the crowd. "Chipper, please stop that before you get us all thrown out!" Joe pleaded. Ok, so I got carried away, can I help it that I'm proud of my grandchildern? Nancy kept her composure as she continued to read,"Meanwhile, in the hill country near Bethlehem, shepards were out keeping watch over their sheep under the starlit night." There were several cardboard cutouts of sheep on the stage, but to the audience's amazement, there were very realistic sheep sounds coming from the stage area! I thought to myself,"wow! I know James is no accustical genius, how is he getting such great sound effects?" Nancy continued,"An angel appeared before them all and spoke!" On cue, a white dove flew in, dressed with a halo and hovered over the center of the stage. A bright light was shined on the dove as he spoke these lines: 'Fear not, for behold I give you good tiding of great joy which shall be to all people, a Savior is born this night in Bethlehem whose name is Christ, our Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you, you will find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger." With that, the 'angel' began to sing and a number of other 'angels' appeared as if out of thin air and sang,"Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth, goodwill to men." As the curtain closed and the crowd clapped wildly, I had to wonder how James managed that last scene. The sounds were very real, and I knew that no bird in all of BirdWorld could make 'angels' appear like that! I was still pondering all this when the curtain rose for the next scene. Three young birds walked out, dressed in kingly attire, each carrying a box with them. Nancy read,"and in another part of the land, there were three wise men who had followed a star from the east, and were coming ever so closer to where the star had rested, over the city of Bethlehem!" All of a sudden, a very bright light came through the building's skylight! It was truly breathtaking, nearly everyone in the audience was stunned and surprised at how bright and radiant that the overhead 'star' appeared! I could hardly believe my eyes! I wonder if James had a group of birds standing on the roof holding that light up! The three wise men exited the stage and the curtain fell quickly. When the curtain arose for the final act, the stage was well decorated to look like a stable, there in the middle of the stage was Joseph and Mary, seated beside a manger filled with straw and a young hatchling! Those awesome sound effects started up again, sounds of many animals in the stable, even a very realistic infant's cry! Nancy bagan the read,"Mary gave birth that night in the stable, and the shepards from the fields arrived and found the baby just as the angel had told them! Also arriving on the scene were the three wise men, who had saw that the star they had been following for many months had finally stopped right over the stable where Christ was born!" The bright light from the skylight flickered on again, it was quite a sight! All the members of the cast on stage began singing a chorus of "Silent Night" together, the audience joined in! After the song, Nancy walked out on the stage with a microphone in her hand. I was going to stand up and wave and shout at her, but I could see that Robin and Joe were already giving me icy stares, so I stayed in my seat. Nancy read,"over the years, Christmas has come to mean many different things to many others, but what all of you just witnessed on this stage tonight, THIS IS the true meaning of Christmas! May everyone of us remember that Jesus Christ is the reason for the season and may all of you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!" All the cast came forward and bowed before the crowd, hearing the thunderous applause! After the play, Robin, Joe, Mr Appleby and I stayed behind to help clean up the auditorium and put away all the props. James lingered behind also, lending a hand with the cardboard sheep and stable background. Zoe, Nancy and Chuck also stayed to help out. All of us were very curious, so we gathered around James as Mr Appleby, his teacher asked,"James, how DID you do all those sounds and special effects? I know our sound system is not capable of making those realistic animal noises, and how did you make all those birds dressed like angels appear out of nowhere like that?" "And how did you rig up that huge overhead skylight?" I asked. Zoe scolded James, saying,"James, I can't understand how you did all those tricks! It is simply scientifically impossible!" "You must show us how you did all of that!" Nancy begged. James simply smiled and said, "follow me outside, and I'll show you all!" James went outside through the side door of the building, all of us followed closely behind. "So, where's the big secret?" Chuck asked. James turned, and yelled out into the night,"OK, THE OTHERS HAVE LEFT, IT'S JUST MY FAMILY WITH ME, YOU CAN COME OUT OF HIDING NOW!" "Ok, James, I'm deactivating the invisibility field!" said a familiar voice. Soon, two very large figures came into focus. "Look everyone! It's Otto and the Computer Dinosaur!" Robin shouted with glee. "You're that furry creature and the large reptile who saved our land last month, aren't you?" asked Mr Appleby. "The very same," Otto said with a smile,"James told us about his play and we were very glad to help! I did all of the animal sound effects, I have a very excellent built-in sound system!" "And he did that magical appearing scene with all of those angels, too!" the Dinosaur added,"and look at my lantern! I held it very high with my teeth so that it shined through the building's skylight! It was SO COOL!" "So THAT'S how you did all that James!" I shouted with joy,"that was very quick thinking, grandson!" "Thanks, Grandpa!" James said,"so, how did I do, Mr Appleby?" "I've never seen anything like it!" Mr Appleby said with a smile,"this was the BEST Christmas play we ever had!" "We have to get going, y'all!" The Dinosaur said sadly,"it was SO fun being here, but my legs are getting stiff!" "That was the hardest part," Otto admitted,"I had to transport the big guy to this exact spot so he wouldn't accidently step on any buildings or things like that. He's been standing in the same spot invisible for almost three hours now!" "And I didn't move my feet at all!" the Dinosaur said,"so we'd better 'zap' home before my legs go to sleep on me!" "Ok, thanks again for all your help!" James said, waving to the two large animals. Everyone shouted,"Goodbye and Merry Christmas" to Otto and the Computer Dinosaur, and he answered back,"Merry Christmas y'all, and to all a good night!" as the two disappeared with a loud BOOM!!! Believe me, this is one Chirstmas play I'll never forget! I can only ask myself one question, what will they come up with for NEXT year's play! Well, I have to finish my lights and go back inside. Merry Christmas everyone!!!! ------------------------------------------------------------------------