Mother Earth and Father Spirit

At the beginning of time, Wise Man sat in the sky with his winged friends, looking down at the empty world below him. Life in the sky had been quiet and peaceful, but Wise Man wanted something more to do, something to excite the inhibitors of the sky. One day Wise Man decided to get started and called to Eagle.1

“Eagle, fly down to the land and bring me three jugs; one full of water, another of dirt, and the last of leaves.” Wise Man said to Eagle, the most skillful flyers from the sky.2

Eagle obeyed and flew down to the bare planet. He filled the jugs quickly and cleanly before carrying them back to the sky in his talons.3

“Wise Man, I have brought you what you asked.” Eagle placed the three jugs in front of Wise Man and waited for him to reply.4

“Thank you. Because you did this for me I will let name all the creatures that look like you Eagle and they will be the first creations.” Wise Man plucked a leaf from the jug and ripped it to pieces. 5

Once Wise Man had the leaf cut into many parts, he blew them down toward the empty world below him. As the pieces began to fall, they changed shape and began to fly, changing from torn leaves to eagles. Pleased, Wise Man continued working.6

Eagle stared down at the duplicates of himself, amazed at Wise Man’s powers. “How did you do that?”7

Wise Man smiled before dropping another leaf, turning into sparrows. More leaves flutter from Wise Man’s hands creating more animals. Soon the skies are filled with different types of birds, from hawks to pigeons and bats to robins.8

Tired by nightfall, Wise Man and Eagle both go to sleep. The sun shined bright in the morning, waking all of the animals both in the sky and on the land. As Wise Man looked down at his creations, he noticed that many of the smaller birds had disappeared. Eagle rushed to Wise Man’s side.9

“Wise Man, the larger birds have began to kill the smaller ones!”10

Wise Man nodded. “Yes, they are not like you and I, they must eat to survive. I should begin to work on the animals so the birds will not kill each other.”11

Picking up the dirt, Wise Man began to make four legged creatures. As each chunk of dirt hit the land far below, a new animal was created. Wise Man began with pictures he had had in his mind, creating wolfs and bears and bobcats.12

“May I help?” Eagle asked, noticing that the birds continued to feed on the other birds. “The birds need food so they will quit killing each other.” 13

“Yes, Eagle, you may, but be very careful.” Wise man said, handing Eagle the jug of dirt.14

Eagle poked his curved beak into the jug, pulling out pieces of dirt and dropping them, creating chipmunks and squirrels and rabbits. Content that the birds will be able to eat the small animals, Eagle turns back to Wise Man. Over Wise Man’s shoulder Eagle can see the other creatures that live in the sky with him.15

“Look at what I have done! Isn’t it amazing?” Eagle jumped with pride, accidentally dropping the jug of dirt.16

As the jug fell through the sky, dirt splashed out the sides, falling and landing on the ground, taking shape of spiders, mosquitoes, and worms. Wise Man lunged and grabbed the jug before it fell too far, saving some of the dirt.17

“Because you were so full of pride birds will continue to eat birds and animals will continue to eat animals.” Wise Man scolded Eagle. “Look at what hideousness you have put on the land! Go now and do not come back until I ask.”18

Eagle obeyed and flew into the distance. Wise Man huffed, realizing darkness was making it’s way again. He had wasted too much time allowing Eagle to use the dirt. As he lay down to rest, Wise Man thought of what he would make the next day.19

It was raining when Wise Man awoke.20

“Aha! I will use the jug of water today.” Wise Man grabbed the jug and began to drip drops of water from the jug into the ocean below.21

First he created pretty fish, ones with stripes and lights on their head, and then he made jellyfish and crabs, finally ending with sharks and whales. Though he used all the original water, rain had begun to refill the jug. Wise Man waited for the rain to cease before pouring his jug. With the rainwater Wise Man created rivers and lakes and fish to fill them.22

The next morning Wise Man awoke to find that he had not used the entire dirt from the jug. He pondered over what to create for a while, before finally deciding to make an image of himself. Wise Man grabbed a glob of dirt, kissed it once, and then tossed it to the ground. The dirt split and formed a man and a woman. Wise Man smiled at himself, proud of what he had done. Thinking back, he remembered that he could not have done it without Eagle.23

“Eagle!” He called out in the sky. “I need your help!”24

Eagle appeared as Wise Man finished yelling.25

“I am sorry for what I did.” Eagle said, apologizing for spilling the dirt.26

“I forgive you Eagle, though what you created was ugly, they have been serving as good food for both the animals and birds. But I have one thing left undone and I need your help.”27

“Anything you need to be done I will do.” Eagle replied, waiting to hear his next task.28

“I need a name for this wonderful place that we have created. Nothing I come up with sounds good enough.”29

“How about Mother Earth?” Eagle decides after a few moments in thought.30

“Mother Earth? Yes, and they may call me Father Spirit. Thank you eagle, now go down and tell all the other eagles what we have decided upon. You may stay and be my eyes if you wish. If anything shall happen on Mother Earth that I should know then you should fly back and tell me.”31

“Yes Wise Man, I will tell them.” Eagle flew off, leaving Wise Man alone to watch over the sky and Mother Earth.32