PALESTINE

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The Legends of Bethlehem
submitted by Arab Educational Institute

A fair damsel (girl) of Artas, just returned from the market in Bethlehem, came into the room with her hands held awkwardly behind her back. "O lady," she began, in the breathless tone of one who has considered what best to say while walking all the way back home and must get it out at once, "O lady, I went to the market for the meat for supper, just as you bid me, and there was none in the market save that of a camel which had been run over by a motor car, and I knew you wouldn't like that. But I have brought you this," and with a great flourish she produced a plant of Sage torn up by the roots. "O Miriamiya! O Blessed Thing" (Ya Miriamiya, Ya Mubarake) cried those who recognised it. "Yes" (triumphantly) "and I had to carry it back all the way under my dress for fear of the Government (this is because the plant is too valuable to be rooted up carelessly). I knew if I brought you this you wouldn't mind about the meat." A chorus of approval from the botanists followed. "Truly plants are our meat and drink," they said, "and this one is blessed beyond all others. Thanks to you for bringing it" (negligently, as an afterthought), "we will have eggs for supper."

But why is the Miriamiya so blessed? This is the story of the Miriamiya. When Our Lady Miriam fled from King Herod into Egypt with Our Lord Jesus and he was yet a little Child, she sat down, weary, under the shade of a shrub. And she broke a sprig from the shrub and wiped the sweat from her face with the leaves until she found refreshment because of its fragrance. Then she said to the plant "Be thou blessed for ever" and since that day the plant is called Miriamiya in her memory, and truly it is blessed.

So the women of Palestine value and love the plant, believing it full of healthful virtue. The leaves are sometimes used in an infusion with sugar or honey, but more usually they are chewed while fresh. Sometimes the leaves are thrown on red hot charcoal to incense a room "to keep illness away," a most reasonable disinfection.

These Wonderful Tales come from http://www.palestine-family.net/

Cedars of Lebanon Multimillenary 2,000 years old

What was happening in the world while these trees were alive?

These trees were alive and growing way back when history was being written.
Below is a history timeline.

These cedars, kings of the mountain, were alive during those events.

The Boy Who Knew What the Birds Said
by  Padraic Colum

Said the Crow "Caw, caw, I never have seen such a one myself, and I am, I am sure longer in the world."

Then the Crow flew away and the Lapwing went on  complaining.

The Crow flew away and he came to where the Peacock was walking in the King's Garden. He asked the Peacock did he ever listen to stories.

"No," said the Peacock as he mounted the steps of the terrace. "No. Certainly not. I do not demean myself by listening to any of the stories they tell down below there."

He spread out his tail, and, that he might view his own magnificence, he turned his blue, shining neck.

Hoodie the grey-headed Crow with the bright sharp eyes hopped after him.

"Jewels! Kings! Magicians! Palaces! Dragons!" What do geese, grouse and farmyard fowl know of such things? And yet they presume to tell stories! Tell stories that have nothing in them of Jewels, Kings, Magicians, Palaces, or Dragons!"

"Nothing at all about such things," said Hoodie the Crow, as he plucked a feather out of the Peacock's tail.

"Yet they will not listen to me," said Purpurpurati the Peacock. "They affect even to scorn my voice! They pretend that it is less resonant than the cock in the farmyard and less musical than the bird's that sings at night.

"They'd say anything," said Hoodie the Crow, keeping behind the Peacock's tail.

Purpurpurati the Peacock mounted higher on the terrace. "I shall walk before the statue of the beautiful Queen yonder," he said, "and I shall tell you a story. The reason that I shall tell you is that the Queen always listens to me. But I would have her think that it is to you that I am telling the story."

"I'll listen to you," said Hoodie the Crow and he plucked another feather out of the Peacock's tail.

"When the Queen has been pleased with the sight of my tail, I shall begin," said Purpurpurati, and he spread out his tail. Hoodie the Crow plucked out three feathers.

"How pleased she looks," said he.

"Yes, she is always pleased by my appearance," the Peacock said, and he turned round and walked the other way.

"Did I ever tell you," said Hoodie, hiding the feathers behind a bush. "Did I ever tell you how the Pigeon went to the Crow to learn the art of nest-making?"

"I do not know about such things," said Purpurpurati the Peacock.

"I'll tell you and then you'll know," said Hoodie the Crow.

The Crow is the Master-builder among the Birds and so it was to the Crow that the Pigeon went to learn the art of nest-making. "We begin with the sticks," said the Crow. "I know," said the Pigeon. "First we take one stick and lay it lengthwise." "I know," said the Pigeon. "Then we put a stick across it," said the Crow. "I know," said the Pigeon. "And then we put another stick lower down." said the Crow. "I know," said the Pigeon. "Then we put another stick lengthwise," "I know," said the Pigeon. "Musha," said the Crow, "If you know so much, why do you come here at all? Away with you! Fly home now and build the nest yourself." The Pigeon flew home, but of course he was not able to build his nest, for he knew nothing about the laying of sticks and the bringing of straws, and he was too young and foolish to learn when he got the chance. And that is why the Pigeon to this day cannot build a nest.

"Why do you tell such foolish stories?" said Purpurpurati the Peacock when Hoodie had finished.

"We have no other stories in our family," said Hoodie the Crow.

"We don't know about Jewels and Magicians and Palaces and Kings and Dragons."

"The Magician," said Purpurpurati the Peacock, "The Magician lived in a Palace of red marble that was all surrounded by a forest of black, black trees. I lived there too and I ate golden grains out of pails of silver. That was long ago and it was in far India.

The Magician had precious stones of every kind and he would have me walk beside him to the Cavern where he kept his precious stones, and as he handled them over he would tell me of the virtues that each stone possessed. And one day the Magician looking upon me said ‘This Peacock I will slay, for the beauty of his neck makes dull my turquoises and the crest on his head is more shapely than my Persian jewel-work' "

"Dear me, dear me!" said Hoodie the Crow.

Hearing him say this, said the Peacock "I flew into the branches of a dark, dark tree. And as I rested there the fair lady who walked about the Garden—White-as-a-Pearl she was called and she was the Magician's daughter—walked under the dark, dark trees, and I saw that she was weeping.

I knew why she wept. She wept for the young man whom her father had imprisoned in a tower. This young man was the son of a King, and the Magician was his father's brother. And if the young man died the Magician would become King in his brother's Kingdom. But the lady White-as-a-Pearl did not want the young man to die.

A little snow-white dove flew down from the tower and spoke in words to White-as-a-Pearl and asked her what word she had to send to the young man.

" 'You must tell him terrible news, my little snow white dove,' said White-as-a-Pearl. 'My father will have him go forth to fight with a dragon. And this is a terrible dragon. Every young man who has gone forth against him has been slain.'

The little snow white dove flew back to the tower and the Princess White-as-a-Pearl stood under the dark, dark trees and wept again. And when she saw me on my branch she said 'O most beauteous of all the birds, do you know of any arms by which a hero can slay a terrible dragon?'

Then I came down off my branch and I walked beside the Princess, and as I walked beside her I told her the wonderful secrets I knew."

"And what were the secrets," said Hoodie the Crow plucking a last feather from the peacock's tail. "What were the secrets anyway?"

"Can I tell them to a Crow?" said Purpurpurati the Peacock. But I will tell them. I told her the secrets I had learnt from the Magician when he spoke of the virtues of his precious stones—a ruby in a man's helmet would make a dragon's eyes go blind. A turquoise on his arm would make a dragon's blood turn to water. A sapphire on his spear would make a dragon's heart burst within him.

So the Princess White-as-a-Pearl went to her father's cavern and took the precious stones I spoke of and gave them to the King's son. And he went forth the next day and when he came to him the dragon's eyes were blinded, and his blood turned to water and his heart burst within him. And the King's son cut off his head and brought it into the Palace. Then the Magician fled amongst the dark, dark trees and I was given the red marble palace to live in."

"I lived in Lapland," said Hoodie the Crow. "And who do you think I knew there?"

"No one of any dignity," said Purpurpurati the Peacock.

"I knew your White-as-a-Pearl. She had become an old ugly witch-woman."

"Base crow!" said Purpurpurati and he walked up the steps and went away

.Then Hoodie the Crow dressed himself in the feathers he had stolen from the Peacock and went away and walked across the field admiring himself. But a Fox that had promised to bring a Peacock to his Mother-in-law saw Hoodie the Crow and stole up beside him and caught him in his mouth and carried him away. And that was the end of Hoodie who was such a clever crow. "This Peacock is very tough," said the Fox's mother-in-Law as she ate Hoodie. "What would your Ladyship have?" said Rory the Fox." Peacock is always tough."

Once upon a time, there was a man who was a hunter and his name was Hunter, too. One day, he went hunting when he found a deer. When he aimed at the deer, it disappeared. He looked around and saw the deer in another place. He aimed again and suddenly that deer turned into a man. Hunter was shocked. The man came closer to Hunter and said, "Why do you always hunt deer and birds? Don't you think they have an owner?"
"I have to feed my family, and this is our only source of income," replied Hunter. "How large is your family?" asked the man.
"Two boys, a girl, my wife, and I," replied Hunter, "and this is how we make our living."
 "Well," said the man, "if I give you money, will you stop this?"
 "Of course," said Hunter, "as long as I have money, I will not hunt any more." At this point, the man pulled out fifty dinars and gave them to Hunter.
"Before you go; what's your name?" the man asked.
 "I am Hunter, and you?" Hunter said.
"Call me Abdallah," the man replied, "and I have a family like yours."

Hunter went home, cleaned his gun and hung it on the wall. He told his wife that he will not hunt any more and God has provided a source of money. However, it was not too long before the money was gone, so Hunter picked up his gun and took off to hunt.

When he reached his usual spot, he found the deer in the same place he found it the first time. When he aimed at it, it turned into Abdallah. "Didn't we have an agreement?" asked Abdallah.

"But the money was all gone," said Hunter, "and we almost starved to death."

"Do you see that rock?" said Abdallah, "Whenever you need me, just come to it and say, O brother Abdallah, and I will come immediately." Then he gave hunter another fifty dinars.

Hunter was happy and went home. When he gave the money to his wife she demanded to know where he got it. He told her that he met this friend who promised to help him all the time and whenever they need him; Hunter only had to go to that rock and call him.

"You are a stingy man!" said Hunter's wife, "You should have invited him to our house, so we could have food together and build on this friendship."

So Hunter went back to the rock and called on Abdallah. After he apologized to Abdallah for not inviting him, Abdallah insisted that Hunter and his family were first invited to his house. After they agreed on eight o'clock in the morning, Hunter went home to tell his wife the latest news.

Hunter and his wife went and bought a present and took the children with them to the rock. When they got there, they found Abdallah and his family waiting. Each member of Abdallah's family welcomed a member of Hunter's and they held hands. In a blink of an eye, they found themselves in a different world. Abdallah's family prepared the feast and invited all the neighbours who brought presents and money to Hunter and his family. After they spent some time there, Hunter and his family gathered the presents and the money and went home. They had enough money to build a nice house. A few months later, it was a holiday, so Hunter went to visit his friend. When Abdallah showed up, he held Hunter's hand and in a blink of an eye, they were in a different place. Abdallah gave Hunter a thousand dinars this time.

Hunter took the money and went home. His wife said that now they have enough money to get their oldest son married. They found a nice girl for him and set a time for the wedding. Of course Hunter invited Abdallah and his family to the wedding.

Abdallah asked Hunter to prepare a separate room for him and another twenty people and not to let anybody come near them. On the wedding day, everybody in town was invited and Hunter did what Abdallah asked him to do.

People would see Hunter going into that room with full trays and getting out empty handed while they could not see anybody inside the room. After everybody left, Abdallah asked Hunter if they could go and give the bride her presents. They went in one by one and the bride was happy to receive all of the nice jewelery they gave her. Before Abdallah left, he told Hunter that they were all invited to his place for the whole week.

A couple of thieves in town knew where the bride put her jewelry box, so they raided the house and took the jewelry when Hunter and his family were at Abdallah's place.

When Hunter and his family returned to the house, they discovered the robbery. All Hunter could do was seek help from his friend Abdallah. Abdallah comforted him and told him to go back and open the box.

When Hunter went back and opened the box, he found double the amount of jewels in it.

Abdallah came to Hunter and said, "Next time my brother, when you come to visit us, we will protect your home."

A STRANGE ENDING.... I HEAR YOU SAY!..... I SAY, NO!, NOT REALLY.

THERE IS A PARABLE IN THIS STORY, BUT IT IS ONE THAT THE PALESTINIANS HAVE COME TO KNOW MORE THAN MOST.