Child of the Sun

#####Child of the Sun

There is a very old tale that tells of a man and his wife who lived on a small island off the west coast of Canada. They were very lonely, for they had no children and no-one else lived on the island.

One evening, when the sky was the colour of seagull’s feathers, the young woman sat alone on the seashore looking out across the water.

“If only we had children, they could play on the sand with me and I wouldn’t be so lonely,” she said.

A kingfisher nearby was diving in the mouth of the river with his young.

“O kingfisher,” said the young woman. “I wish I had children like you.”

Then, to her amazement, the kingfisher replied: “Look in the seashells! Look in the sea-shells.”

The next evening, when her husband was away fishing, the woman sat again on the beach looking out to the sea. She saw the seagull bobbing up and down on the waves with her brood of young gulls.

“O seagull,” the young woman sighed. “I do wish I had children like you.”

And the seagull replied: “Look in the sea-shells. Go and look in the sea-shells.”

Then suddenly she heard a cry from behind her. It came from a large sea-shell lying in the sand. Picking it up, the woman looked inside and saw a tiny boy, crying as hard as he could.

She carried the baby home and looked after him. He soon grew into a strong little boy. One day the boy said to the young woman: “I must have a bow made from the copper bracelet on your arm.”

The woman smiled. And to please the little boy she made a tiny bow and two tiny arrows.

The next day the boy went out hunting with his bright new bow. And after that he went out hunting every day, bringing back geese, ducks and all sorts of small sea-birds.

As he grew older, the boy’s face turned a deep golden colour, brighter than the shine of his little golden bow. And when he sat on the beach, gazing out to sea, the weather was always calm and there were strange bright lights on the water.

One day a huge storm blew over the occan and the sea was so rough that the fisherman could not go out in his boat. And before long he and his wife and the little boy had no more fish to eat.

Then the boy said, “Let me go out in the boat with you, Father, because I will conquer the Storm Spirit.”

The man did not want to go out in the boat as the sea was so violent, but the boy continued to plead so much that he finally agreed.

Together they set out across the stormy sea. They had not gone far when they met the Storm Spirit blowing in from the southwest, where the great winds live.

Tossing the little boat this way and that, the Storm Spirit blew and blew like a wild monster. But for all his blowing he could not turn the small boat over. The boy guided it through the waves, and soon the sea was calm all around them.

Then the Storm Spirit called his friend Mist of the Sea to come and hide the water, for he knew that when the Mist came down the man and the boy would soon be lost.

When the man saw Mist of the Sea spreading across the water he was terrified. He was more afraid of Mist of the Sea than any of his many enemies on the waters.

But the boy said, “Don’t be afraid. He will not harm you when I am with you.”

When the Mist of the Sea saw the boy sitting in front of the little boat, and smiling, he disappeared as quickly as he had arrived. There was nothing else the Storm Spirit could do so he turned away in anger, and the sea was safe again.

As they set off for home the boy taught his father a magic song, which they sang to the fish. When they heard it, the fish swam into the nets and by evening the boat was loaded up with a fine catch.

“Tell me the secret of your power,” said the father. “I can’t tell you yet,” replied the boy.

The next day the boy went out with his copper bow and arrows and shot many birds. When he got home he skinned them and hung up the skins to dry.

Then he covered himself in the skins of plovers, rose into the air and flew above the sea. Below him the sea was a dull grey, like the colour of his wings.

After flying round the island, he came down. He took off the plover skins, and put on the feathers of blue jays, and again soared up into the air.

The sea beneath him immediately turned to a blue like the blue of his wings. Again he flew round the island and returned to the beach.

This time he put on the skins of robins, which had a reddish golden colour from their breast feathers. As he flew high over the sea the waves below him reflected the colour of fire. Bright gleams of light appeared on the ocean, and the western sky shone a golden red.

When he came back to the beach the boy said to his mother: “I am the Child of the Sun. It is time for me to go now, and I shall leave this island for ever. But I shall appear to you often in the western sky when the sun shines bright at the end of the day. When the sky and sea at evening are the golden colour of my face you will know that the next day will be fine, and there will be neither wind nor storm. “And though I have to leave you I will give you special powers. Wear this magic robe and if you ever need me you can let me know by sending little white signals to me, so I can see them from my home in the west.”

The boy gave his mother the magic robe and flew off to the west, leaving the fisherman and his wife very sad.

Now, when the woman sits in the Sand and loosens her magic robe, the wind starts blowing and the sea becomes rough. And the more she loosens it, the more the storm rages.

But in the autumn, when mists roll in from the sea and the evening sky is dull, she remembers the boy’s promise. Taking the tiny white feathers from the breasts of birds, she tosses them into the wind.

Turning to snowflakes, they fly off to the west to tell the boy that the world is grey and lonely and that it longs for the sight of his golden face.

Then, after the sun has fled, the boy appears, and the sky is set on fire and the sea is sprinkled with golden light. And the people of the Earth know that there will be no wind the next day and the weather will be fine. Just as the Child of the Sun promised them, long ago.