The illustrated book is about the legend of Pluma de Quetzal and the marimba. The story, which takes place in the Mexican state of Chiapas, tells how the woodcutters who lived in the area would sit around the fire talking and singing every night. Sung by tired voices, their songs had no happy music. Instead of happiness and hope, they expressed sadness and bitterness which the wind blew into the forest. Pluma de Quetzal, a young man, loved the solitude and sounds of the forest. One evening he heard the beautiful music produced by the wind between the trees and followed it into the forest. There he heard voices but saw no one. Then he discovered the voices were coming from two of the tallest trees in the forest, which were talking about the sad songs they heard each night and what they could do about them. A third tree said he could help and started to make beautiful sounds. Pluma de Quetzal went back and related this to the other woodcutters who did not believe him. The next day he went back to the third tree hoping to hear its beautiful sounds. Several days later when the woodcutters found him, they thought the tree had bewitched him and began to chop it down. The tree told them to finish chopping it down and take its wood. Pluma de Quetzal picked up pieces of wood of different sizes. From these he made an instrument which produced beautiful music--the marimba. Two language activities are included. (NQ)