Chapter 10: chapter 10

A Tale of Two SiblingsA long time ago, a brother and a sister lived in a shaded clearing in the middle of a beautiful forest. The brother was called Sun, and the sister was called Moon. They lived with their parents, Day and Night.The forest was full of wild animals, reptiles and birds. So, when the parents stepped out to go to work or run some errands, they would warn Sun and Moon to be very careful and not leave the clearing where they lived.Sun and Moon were obedient kids. They rarely broke the rules set by their parents. And who would not enjoy playing in the forest? They spent their entire day playing among the trees, picking fruits and vegetables, and searching for snails and small insects. Sometimes the duo would climb to the top of the tallest tree and sit on its branches to watch the birds.When their parents were not around, they would be extra cautious.Particularly because they feared the Blue Python. The Blue Python was a massive, terrifying, sinister creature. When his stomach was full, he rarely moved. He would sit all coiled up and content, not even opening an eye. But when the creature was hungry, he would deftly uncoil himself, spring forward with his mouth wide open, grab a hapless victim and clamp down with his fangs. No one in the forest had seen him move, but they would notice when an animal had disappeared, and the Blue Python had moved to rest in another spot in the jungle.It so happened that the Blue Python had shifted closer to the clearing where Sun and Moon lived with their family. And although he made do with smaller critters and creatures, he kept an eye on the two small kids living close by. They would make a delicious feast, he had decided.He didn’t make any sudden moves because that would make the family wary. But he watched them from afar, learning their routine. Within a week, he knew that the parents sometimes left the kids alone while they went out for firewood, vegetables, fruits or herbs or to hunt for dinner.One day, he saw Day and Night stepping out of the clearing to get firewood for the week. He knew their journey took half an hour each way. They would take another hour to find herbs and vegetables. The kids would be alone for a couple of hours. This was his chance.He couldn’t grab the kids when they were up in the trees since they would jump down and run away. He had to get them when they were on the ground, chasing after some tiny spider or frog or snail. When he found Sun and Moon intently crouching over a small insect, he silently lifted his head, leapt forward, grabbed the kids with his mouth and swallowed them up! All without a single sound. Then he quietly settled down under an oak tree near the clearing, sated.When Day and Night returned to the clearing, they saw that Sun and Moon were missing. They searched for the pair near the lake, under the trees and in the bushes—everywhere the kids spent time—but to no avail.They began to suspect the Blue Python, who had been camping near their clearing for weeks. They decided to ask for help from Night’s sister, Sleep. Sleep lived close by and immediately came to help. The three agreed on a strategy to retrieve Sun and Moon.Day climbed up a tall tree, scaling its sturdy branches, and leapt from treetop to treetop until he landed on the tree under which the Blue Python was resting. It was bright and sunny before this but night suddenly made the clearing dark and silent. Sleep worked her magic to hypnotise the Blue Python.The Blue Python began nodding repetitively. Just when he opened his mouth wide to let out a big yawn, Day bent down and pulled Sun and Moon out of the Blue Python’s big mouth. The kids quickly scrambled up the tree along with Day, but the python was already awake and fuming at having his meal taken from him. He quickly slithered up the tree, but Day had already started leaping across the treetops with the kids. Night and Sleep followed close behind, the Blue Python hot on their heels.Knowing they couldn’t outrun the lightning-fast Blue Python, Day and Night decided to split up so that the python wouldn’t know whom to follow. Day passed Moon to Night and Sleep, and he ran ahead with Sun. Seeing the tallest tree in the forest before him, he climbed right to the top of it and took a huge leap to the east of the sky, Sun cradled in his arms. Night, who had been going in the other direction, followed his lead and jumped off a tree westwards, holding on to Moon.The Blue Python watched in frustration, knowing he couldn’t follow their flight skywards. ‘Just you wait. I will swallow both of you the moment you put your foot on Earth again.’Since that day, Sun and Moon have lived on opposite ends of the sky. Sun rises in the east and meets his sister, Moon, while setting in the west at dusk. And Moon rises in the west and meets her brother, Sun, when she sets in the east at dawn.