THE PHOENIX AT ELIM
Scout: "Great Moses, take note of the place we have discovered, by that airy valley. It is over there, as, I think, you can see. From there a light flashed out at night, some sort of sign, a pillar of fire. There we discovered a shady meadow and springs of water. The spot is lush and abundant. Twelve springs issue forth from one rock, there are many strong and fruitful palm trees, seventy in all. And there is grassland with water round about, forage for our animals...."
"We saw something else too, a strange and remarkable creature, such as no man has ever seen before. He was about twice the size of an eagle and had multi-colored wings. His breast was purplish and his legs red. From his neck saffron tresses hung beautifully. His head was like that of a cock. He gazed all around with his yellow eye which looked like a seed. He had the most wonderful voice. Indeed, it seemed that he was the king of all the birds. For all of them followed behind him in fear. He strode in front, like an exultant bull, lifting his foot in swift step...."
Excerpt from "The Exagoge", a play by Ezekiel the Poet, Translated by Howard Jacobson in The Exagoge of Ezekiel (1983), Cambridge University Press.
The Exagoge is possibly the earliest recorded Midrash known to us today.