Why the Sky Is Far Away

Long, long ago, the sky was not far away as it is today. It was just above the rooftops; you could reach up and touch it with your hand. And what's more, the sky could be eaten! Whenever someone was hungry, they reached up, broke off a piece and ate it. Sometimes it tasted like honey, sometimes like fresh bread. People did not plough fields or sow crops; they just sang, danced and told stories.

The sky told the people only one thing: "Take as much of me as you need. Don't break off more and throw it away." The people promised.

But in time some of them forgot their promise. They broke off more than they could eat, ate half and threw the rest on the ground. Pieces of sky piled up on the rubbish heaps. The sky darkened its clouds and warned them: "Don't waste me. If it happens again, I will move away from you." The people were frightened, and for a while they were careful.

In the village there lived a woman called Adese, who always wanted more of everything. One festival day she could not stop herself and broke off a huge piece of the sky. She ate and ate but could not finish it. She gave some to her husband and her children, but they could not finish it either. So that nobody would see, she buried the leftovers in the rubbish heap.

That night a great wind blew. Slowly, slowly the sky began to rise. It rose higher than the rooftops, higher than the treetops, higher even than the mountain peaks. When morning came, people reached up, but they could not reach the sky. Now the sky looked down from far away, blue and silent.

From then on, people learned to plough the fields, sow the seeds and gather the harvest. They earned their bread with the sweat of their brows, and now they knew very well how precious food is.

This tale tells us: let us be thankful for what nature gives us, take only as much as we need and never waste it. Now close your eyes; the faraway sky is watching over you with its stars.