Nestled in the branches of the mighty curved trees in the rolling hills of Uforia, lived the black and white birds of song. The black birds would sing through the night, lulling the villagers into a sweet sleep. The white birds would sing during the day, cheerfully awakening the villagers from their slumber. Over time, each group grew to believe that they sang better than the other. As their belief grew stronger, the competitive spirit of the birds led to strife and a growing aversion between them.

The black and white birds each longed to sing all the time, day and night. To be heard all the more, both groups of birds would sing during dawn and dusk, which, before, were periods of quiet. The discordant sounds of their voices at the beginning and end of the day dismayed people. As time passed, the villagers became so exasperated that they supplicated to Zowan, the god of Nature, for help.

Zowan grew weary of hearing the villagers bemoan their protracted submission to the birds’ chaotic sounds. He then became angry at their bickering, and wanted to rid Uforia of birds all together. He relegated the villagers’ plight to his wife, Zefyra, who would minister to the villagers.

Zefyra pronounced a solution: A competition between the rivaling birds to decided whose song was the most beautiful. The victor would sing day and night, and the defeated would be banished forever from the land of Uforia. The people would be the judge, and she would oversee the contest.

For the next seven days, the white birds sang their opulent songs only at dawn as the people would wake up and get ready for the day. The black birds sang only at dusk as the villagers gathered around their tables for supper. The day and night hours would be set aside for the people to ponder the bewitching beauty of the singing from the dawn and dusk before.

After seven days, the people assembled at the village square and summoned Zefyra with their pleas to end the contest. When she arrived, however, the villagers could not offer her a decision. They argued bitterly among themselves.

Zefyra was saddened over the turmoil that became pervasive in the usually peaceful land of Uforia. She saw the dispute and hostility increase between the villagers. Zefyra tried to pacify the villagers by deciding to bring the black and white birds together. She put the black and white birds side by side on the branches of the great curved trees, hoping that they would get along with one another. She hoped they would join in song.

The dissonance in the birds’ voices grew, and the din coming from the trees became unbearable. The people pleaded for help once again.

Zefyra was determined to finally settle the continuing unrest. She was unhappy with the birds’ failure to sing in concert. Zefyra realized that the birds were too stubborn to unite and sing together in harmony for the villagers. She admonished them, but still gave them another chance to sing in unison.

Another seven days passed and the cacophony continued. Zefyra was angry, and contrived to capture the birds’ voices and control them forever.

Zefyra decided to bind the birds’ melodies in a way that the villagers could enjoy them in peace, whenever they would want. She transformed the birds into black and white finger-pieces encased in a frame made from the wood of the great curved trees. The shape of the frame would bend like the trunks of those trees. The black and white finger-pieces were placed side by side in a row to forever be played together. Each finger-piece was a different note. When pressed, the sounds would resonate from the frame. She called it the “Piano.”

Sadly, the villagers were unable to recreate the music of the birds because they did not know how to play the piano. Zefyra came to realize that this gift of music could not be used by the villagers. She decided to give the ability to play the piano to many people of the village. At first, the villagers would play only the songs the birds used to sing. After some time, they played songs of their own. The villagers would teach the neophytes of the next generation how to play the piano, and there was music for all to enjoy for a long time.