Grandmother Spider Brings the Sun

Long, long ago, when the world was brand new, there was no light anywhere. No sun. No moon. Not even a single star.

The animals stumbled around in the darkness, bumping into trees and tripping over rocks. "Ouch!" said Bear, rubbing his nose. "Excuse me!" said Deer, stepping on Turtle's shell.

Everyone was tired of living in the dark. They couldn't see the flowers or the rivers or each other's faces. Something had to change.

One day, clever Fox called all the animals together. "Listen!" he said. "I know a secret. On the other side of the world, there is a great ball of light called the Sun. It hangs in a tall tree and makes everything bright and warm."

"Then why is it so dark here?" asked Bear.

"Because the people over there keep it all for themselves," said Fox. "They won't share even a tiny piece."

The animals looked at each other in the darkness. "Then we must go and get some!" they all agreed.

"I'll go!" said Possum, puffing out his chest. He swished his big, beautiful, bushy tail back and forth. "Look at all this fur! I'll hide a piece of the Sun right inside my tail. No one will ever know."

So Possum set off across the world. When he reached the other side, there was the Sun — golden and glowing in a great tree. It was the most beautiful thing Possum had ever seen.

He crept up quietly, broke off a tiny piece of sunlight, and tucked it deep into his furry tail. But the sunlight was HOT! It burned and burned until every last hair on his tail sizzled away.

Poor Possum came home with no light and a bare, pink tail.

And that is why, to this very day, possums have bare tails.

"Ha!" said Buzzard, spreading his enormous wings. "Possum put the light in the wrong place. I'll put it on my head, in my beautiful feathers!"

Buzzard soared across the world on his great wings. He dove straight at the Sun, grabbed a piece in his claws, and set it right on top of his head among his magnificent feathers.

But the sunlight burned even hotter than before! It scorched every feather off Buzzard's head until his skin was bare and bright red.

Buzzard flew home with no light and no feathers on his head.

And that is why, to this very day, buzzards have bald, red heads.

"Let me try!" sang Crow in his sweet, musical voice. His feathers were pure white and shimmered like fresh snow.

Crow flew to the other side of the world and found the Sun. But he couldn't decide which piece to take. He stood there looking and looking, turning this way and that.

While Crow waited, the smoke from the Sun swirled all around him. It turned his white feathers black as night. And when he tried to sing, all that came out was — "CAW! CAW!"

Crow flew home with no light, black feathers, and a scratchy voice.

And that is why, to this very day, crows are black and can only say "Caw!"

Now all the animals were afraid. Bear shook his big head. The birds tucked their wings in tight.

"Let me try," said a tiny voice.

Everyone looked around. Who said that?

"Down here!" It was Grandmother Spider, no bigger than a berry. The animals almost laughed. How could someone so small do what the biggest and strongest could not?

But Grandmother Spider was not just small. She was wise. Instead of rushing off, she sat down and made a plan. First, she shaped a little pot out of clay — round and sturdy with a lid that fit just right. Then she began to spin. She spun a silver thread all the way from home to the other side of the world.

"Now I'm ready," she said.

Grandmother Spider tiptoed along her silver web, all the way to the other side of the world. She was so small that nobody noticed her.

The people who guarded the Sun were watching for big animals with sharp claws and great wings. They never thought to look down at their feet.

Quick as a wink, Grandmother Spider broke off a tiny piece of the golden Sun. She placed it gently inside her clay pot and closed the lid tight.

Then she hurried home along her web, the little pot of sunlight glowing warm on her back. The silver thread sparkled behind her like a trail of tiny stars.

When Grandmother Spider opened her clay pot, golden light spilled out everywhere. The animals blinked and squinted — they had never seen anything so wonderful!

For the first time, they could see the green trees, the blue rivers, the red and yellow flowers. They could see each other's faces and smile.

Grandmother Spider wasn't finished. She taught the people how to make pots from clay, just like the one she had carried. She taught them how to spin and weave, just like her beautiful web.

And if you look closely at a spider's web early in the morning, you can still see tiny drops of light caught in the threads — a reminder of the day Grandmother Spider brought the Sun to the world.