Charlie and I are watching a course on Mythology from The Teaching Company, so….
Sun and Moon
by Marian Allen
In the long-ago days, the world was lit only by starlight. The people couldn’t hunt, and were never safe from wild animals. They ate the moss and, sometimes, raw meat from animals’ kills.
One day the chief said, “If there could be a light in the sky, how much better life would be! Anyone who could make that happen would be worshipped as a god.”
Now there were two sisters in the tribe who were always quarreling. Each one thought she was better than the other, and they were always having contests to prove it. If one of them made a cap, the other would make a dress. If one of them made stew, the other brewed beer.
The younger one, who was named Luna, decided she would forever best her sister by becoming like a god. She slipped away from camp. Smearing her body with white clay, she sprinkled herself all over with powdered silver. Then she climbed the tallest tree in the world and leaped into the sky.
The people all shouted and clapped their hands in joy, for Luna shone like all the stars combined. But the plants grew no bigger and the fierce animals still prowled. And, just as she had when she was mortal, Luna struggled to hold her weight up. Sometimes she was healthy and fat and cast enough light to dance by, but sometimes she dwindled down to nothing, and the people were no better off than before.
Then the other sister, Phoebe, smeared her body with yellow clay and dusted herself all over with powdered gold. She climbed the highest mountain in the world and leaped into the sky.
The world was transformed! Plants grew large and lush, and bore nuts, berries, and fruit. People could hunt, fierce animals hid in the shadows where people could avoid them, and the earth grew warm. Phoebe pulled extra bits of golden clay off her fingers and dropped them into piles of brush, and gave the people fire.
Luna was so jealous, she swore she would never speak to her sister again. And she never has. No matter how much Phoebe tries to persuade her, Luna always moves away from her. Phoebe rules the day and Luna rules the night. True to his word, the chief established both sisters as gods. Phoebe is worshiped most by hunters. Luna is worshiped most by lovers and thieves.
Come to think of it, it’s all the same thing.
MY PROMPTS TODAY: Ounce of gold, mythology
If you liked this story, you might like my other stories and my novels. Support an author: buy a book and leave an Amazon review. I thank you, and my cat thanks you.
MA
Roy A Ackerman, PhD, EA
May 22, 2017 at 9:01amand, that’s why some folks worship the sun- and others the moon. But, it still doesn’t get them any more food.
Marian Allen
May 22, 2017 at 10:30amNot in Real Life, that’s true.
Dan Antion
May 19, 2017 at 11:53amBTW, I don’t know if it’s related to the AWOL ‘Like’ Button, but I am seeing this error message where my infor should be:
“It appears that you are offline or another error occured contacting the API url, have you set it to use www or missed the www off the api url?? check the technical settings and add or remove www from the api url.”
Marian Allen
May 19, 2017 at 12:28pmHon, I sure don’t know. Somebody just said the Like button is showing for them, and nobody else is telling me about that error message. And your comments always go into Moderation and I can’t Whitelist you. So I’m as much in the dark as you are!
Dan Antion
May 19, 2017 at 12:41pmI guess it’s me 🙁
Marian Allen
May 19, 2017 at 12:57pmI changed you from a Subscriber to a Contributor. Let’s see if that makes a difference, next time you visit.
Dan Antion
May 19, 2017 at 11:50amLovers and thieves need someone to love, too.
Marian Allen
May 19, 2017 at 12:25pmTrue, that. 🙂
Pete Laberge
May 19, 2017 at 10:28amInteresting.
And if there is another dark ages…..
Who knows?
It might spread.
Marian Allen
May 19, 2017 at 11:02amIt might, at that! I love making up myths. That was the most fun part of writing my SAGE trilogy: making up the culture’s myths and legends.