the sun the moon and the stars short story

There are also variations that feature a dog or wolf in the tiger’s place. One version takes the form of an imitation tale, in which the tiger tries to copy the siblings’ prayer, saying, “Please send down a thick rope to save me, or send down a crumbling rope to kill me” another version turns into an origin tale, in which the tiger’s fall turns the sorghum stalks red, with some variations that leave out the part about the sun and the moon and only include the origin of the sorghum color. This tale has evolved into many variations in the course of transmission.

The sister, shy of all the people looking up during the day, illuminates with intense light. The heavens first assigned the brother as the sun and the sister as the moon, but the sister was afraid of the dark and their roles were switched. The tiger tried to come after them on a crumbling straw rope, which broke and the tiger fell on a sorghum field and died. The tiger climbed the tree after them and the brother and sister prayed to the heavens, upon which a metal chain was sent down for them and they climbed up to become the sun and the moon.

The brother and sister peeked out and realizing that it was a tiger, they ran out through the back door and climbed up a tree. This tale narrates the origin of the sun and the moon.Ī tiger ate up an old mother returning home after providing labor at a rich household, and after disguising himself with the mother’s clothes and headwrap, went to the home where the mother’s son and daughter were waiting and asked them to open the door.

The sun the moon and the stars short story