Zebaraya, the Singing Zebra

by Mel Rosenberg - מל רוזנברג

Artwork: Cover By Miki Peled

After fruitful careers as a scientist and inventor I've gone back to what I love most - writing children's books Read More

Joined Oct 2013
Published Books 1552

Zebaraya was the world’s most famous singing zebra. Her performances were sold out months in advance. Her recordings were the talk of the savannah. She was the pride of the zebra generation, favorite of DJs everywhere. Even gnus and wildebeests sang her praise.

No one knew where Zebaraya was born or where she came from, or where she learned to sing. None of her family were ever in the audience at her shows. She never gave interviews.

Zebaraya came early to each and every performance. She had all her make-up on when she arrived. Sometimes she would color her stripes in many colors. The audience never knew quite what to expect.

I was at her performance, once. We bought the most expensive seats, arrived early and waited endlessly. We had to stand on our hind legs to get a better view.

“How is the herd doing tonight?” she whispered into the microphone. The crowd went wild.

It happened halfway through her performance. A donkey (can you imagine?) approached the stage and said something to her.

Zebaraya ignored him at first and kept on singing. He raised his voice. Those of us in the first rows could hear him.

“Braya, come home”, he said. “Enough is enough”.

She stopped singing and looked straight at the donkey. “Don’t you ever call me Braya. My name is Zebaraya now. Why should I go home? What has home ever done for me? Look at me now! I’m famous, a singer, I’m rich, loved by millions. Go bray up another tree and let me get on with my performance.”

Zebaraya started singing where she had left off. The donkey, who had been hiding a bucket full of water (don’t ask me how they had let him into the theatre with a bucket) flung all the water in her direction. She was wet from head to toe. And then all the stripes and colors began to drip from her hide.

So that was her secret!! Zebaraya the singing zebra was actually a donkey named Braya!! Beautiful, talented, but still a donkey.

The audience was in shock. Some laughed, others cried. The two left the theatre together. Zebaraya (or should I say Braya) had her tail between her legs.

We never heard her sing again.

Thank you for reading my book!

If you like it, you might also want to read other children’s books that I’ve written, For example:

Your Piano

Or even better, create a book of your own!!!

Here is a tutorial to help you get started on your own voyage as an Ourboox contributor! And finally, you can always write me at [email protected]

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