Ti Zwazo is a Haitian nursery rhyme. My mother sang it to me as a young child and it always brings back joyful and happy feelings whenever heard.

In the song, the bird (I've selected to illustrate an owl as that is my favorite bird) has been warned not to go to little miss Lalo's house as she's known to eat little children.

The song is instrumental in teaching children to stay away from strangers and the dangers one may encounter should you not heed the warning.

I've translated the song below:

Ti Zwazo

Ti Zwazo kote ou prale
(Little bird where are you going)

Mwenn prale kay fiyét lalo
(I am going to little miss Lalo's house)

Fiyét lalo kon manje ti moun
(Little miss Lalo eats little kids)

Si ou ale lap mange ou tou
(If you go she'll eat you too)

Brik kolon brik Brik kolon brik
[***same in English, it's just a noise being made***]

Wosiyol mange korosol
(Nightingale eats breadfruit)

woulo woulo Mwen soti lavil o kay
(Rolling rolling I come from the village)

Tout bet tonbe nan dlo
(All birds fall in water)

Madmwazel leve pou danse
(Lady, please dance with me)

Mesye mwen trň fatige
(Sir, I am too tired.)

It doesn't translate that well but makes sense in Creole ^_^.

For this piece I focused on the part of the song, where the young lady is talking to the bird. Miss little Lalo's house is silhouetted in the background.

To create this piece I used both Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop (CS4).

This piece was joy to create and I hope you enjoyed it too!