Keeping It Real by Frizzy Lizzy

Hi dear friends and followers, welcome to Frizzy Lizzy

Keeping It Real by Frizzy Lizzy

Hi, Everyone! I was going to write about a really nice, romantic Valentine's Day that I had at some point in the past but I just couldn't find one. Lord knows that I have a fair number of Valentine's Days in my past, but none stand out as worth remembering as being good or bad.

I don't know for sure, but maybe I was the cause of it. I never insisted on making a great, big fuss over Valentine's Day. Oh, sure, I always bought my sweetheart a card and found some sort of gift, be it a trinket ,or the latest gadget, or a special meal that I prepared but once a year, and I enjoyed doing it, but I just never made a big deal of Valentine's Day.

Why set aside a day for expressing your love when you have love for someone close to you every day of the year? Am I totally inept or disabled at expressing my love that I can do it but once a year, or maybe on Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries, and Valentine's Day?

Why not express that love in some way every day of the year in all that you say, do, feel, believe, and desire? I find this much more comfortable than expressing love just a few times a year.

Let me be the first to tell you that this takes two to make it work on a daily basis. It takes someone who believes that they are blessed by a love so wonderful that it transcends human understanding to return that love to someone who does not become conceited or jaded by such omnipresent love. There are easier things to do, like make fine whiskey in your living room without the neighbors suspecting, or design and fabricate a truly left-handed screwdriver, or lose 40 pounds because you wore a "miracle" fat-burning patch on your ass for six weeks and continued to eat as you pleased. You can always get your virginity and sanity back more quickly if you try.

The way that I approached Valentine's Day was possibly because of when I was coming of age. I am a child of the 1960s and I can see no reason for why love cannot be lived all year long and not restricted to expressions on certain days, and in expected ways.

Now for those of you who think that I am a wet blanket for not jumping on the Valentine's Day bandwagon, you might want to ask yourself a few questions. Which would you prefer: Flowers and chocolates once a year and a blah rest of the year or a love that keeps you warm and secure, filled with little gestures of affection as expressed by your partner all through the year and not a big fuss on Valentine's Day?

Please do not get me wrong here. I am all for observing Valentine's Day. I just like it better when it goes on for 365 days a year, in sickness and in health, for better or for worse... you get the picture.

Thank you for hearing me out and have a Happy Valentine's Day.

Here's a song to keep in your heart all year long. I hope that you enjoy it.

Thank you very much again, dear friends, for visiting my blog. Please share your thoughts with us, if you will. have a great Week. 

✿ ڰۣ❤In Loving Light from the Fairy Lady❤ڰۣ✿

Haida Mother Bear Story

Hi dear friend and followers

The Haida People traditionally occupied an area in the extreme south of the Alaska Panhandle. They still occupy that area today. Their influence extends south to British Columbia, including the settlement of Haida Gwaii on Graham Island, one of the Queen Charlotte Islands.

Aside from being skillful mariners, Haida men hunted small game, took fish and sea mamals, and were part of a culture known to be fierce warriors on the water as well as on land.

Haida women wove baskets and filled them with berries, roots, and medicinal herbs.

They were master carpenters who built canoes that held as many as 60 rowers out of a single red cedar tree. The same type of tree was made into planks to form their homes.


Today we have a legend from the Haida about a meeting between some girls and some bears.

Haida Mother Bear Story

Long ago, a group of girls were out gathering huckleberries. One among them was a bit of a chatterbox, who should have been singing to tell the bears of her presence instead of laughing and talking. The bears, who could hear her even though some distance away, wondered if she was mocking them in her babbling. By the time the berry-pickers started home, the bears were watching.

As she followed at the end of the group, the girl's foot slipped in some bear dung and her forehead strap, which held the pack filled with berries to her back, broke. She let out an angry laugh. The others went on. Again she should have sung, but she only complained. The bears noted this and said, "Does she speak of us?" It was growing dark. Near her appeared two young men who looked like brothers. One said, "Come with us and we will help you with your berries". As the aristocratic young lady followed them, she saw that they wore bear robes.

It was dark when they arrived at a large house near a rock slide high on the mountain slope. All the people inside, sitting around a small fire, were wearing bearskins also. Grandmother Mouse ran up to the girl and squeaked to her that she had been taken into the bear den and was to become one of them. The hair on her robe was already longer and more like a bear's. She was frightened. One of the young bears, the son of a chief, came up to her and said, "You will live if you become my wife. Otherwise you will die."

She lived on as the wife of the bear, tending the fire in the dark house. She noticed that whenever the Bear People went outside they put on their bear coats and became like the animal. In thewinter she was pregnant, and her husband took her to a cliff cave near the old home, where she gave birth to twins, which were half human and half bear.

One day her brothers came searching for her, and the Bear Wife knew she must reveal her presence. She rolled a snowball down the mountainside to draw their attention, and they climbed up the rock slide. The Bear Husband knew that he must die, but before he was killed by the woman's brothers, he taught her and the Bear Sons the songs that the hunters must use over his dead body to ensure their good luck. He willed his skin to her father, who was a chief. The young men then killed the bear, smoking him out of the cave and spearing him. They spared the two children, taking them with the Bear Wife back to her People.

The Bear Sons removed their bear coats and became great hunters. They guided their kinsmen to bear dens in the mountains and showed them how to set snares, and they instructed the people in singing the ritual songs. Many years later, when their mother died, they put on their coats again and went back to live with the Bear People, but the tribe continued to have good fortune with their hunting.

Thank you very much again, dear friends, for visiting my blog. Please share your thoughts with us, if you will. have a great Week.

✿ ڰۣ❤In Loving Light from the Fairy Lady❤ڰۣ✿

Sabata sees the light. ~ Poem

Hi dear friend and followers. Today I have a poem for you, composed by me for you. Have a great read

Sabata sees the light.

The Underworld was shaken down to its core;

Its princess was missing and not to be found!

The unrest rattled all the dimensions

Until it came to the surface, to the World of Light.

Sabata lie sleeping in a thicket of the woods.

Dawn drew nigh and she was wise to hide.

All of that light meant instant blindness

for the eyes of the mole, such as were hers.

There was not a storm yet the sky flashed blue,

a ball of lightning, the people saw

as overhead it flew towards the Great Dark Forest. 

It came to land but a stone's throw away

from the thicket where Sabata was safely sleeping,

waiting out the day, not moving until nightfall.

The intense blue sphere alit without sound 

on the forest floor for but a moment or two.

Then it burst like a soap bubble leaving the forest

once again in its darkness, without a trace left behind - 

Save for a form in a dark cloak and wide-brimmed hat.

He was sent from the Light to restore the order,

the order that the Underworld was so sorely missing.

The dark form left the forest's edge,

and carefully walked down to the stream.

At the waters edge, it bent down on one knee,

then dipped the stream's content, a right hand full,

and drank heartily of its cold, clear water.

Refreshed, he stood tall and took account of his surroundings.again.

He thought of the daylight, soon to break, 

then got his bearings and turned to the east.

The grey streaks of dawn had turned a soft, rosy pink

as he turned from the stream to resume his mission.

It had been a ages since he had been called up here

and he did not much care for the beings of this world.

But duty had called upon him 

by the will of the wise ones from his world;

they were not to be denied, but to be served with honor,

always with dispatch and a willing spirit.

He raised his hands and waved them in a circle;

another sphere of brilliant energy appeared before him.

The sphere contorted and changed its shape

and the light energy swirled like smoke,

re-forming and taking on a solid physique.

From the swirling smoke a dragon appeared!

It flapped its great and leathery wings 

as though it had been in a cage or maybe a sphere;

then folded them and settled back to the ground

ready to do its partner's bidding.

The agent, Kazu, doffed his cloak and hat,

then climbed into the saddle on the dragon's back.

His brocaded clothing captured the day's first light

as he made ready to carry out his orders.

A being from the Underworld had escaped.

His orders were to locate and detain it.

Unseen he flew over forest and lake

but his senses told him he was on the wrong trail.

Turning his dragon-steed he flew back,

back in the direction from whence he had come.

He returned to the spot where his search had begun

to wait for nightfall - his senses told him!

He was sure that his quarry was close at hand

and all he needed was to patiently wait.

And there he sat, as still as a stone,

past the sunset and evening star.

Then something stirred in a forest thicket,

not a nocturnal from this world, he thought.

It strode across the forest floor, ever faster,

then taking flight, with wings beating the air all 'round;

stirring-up clouds of dust below.

Kazu laid on the ground next to his mount;

a faint glow of blue light surrounded them both,

faintly lighting the woods all about them.

The woodland creatures began their routine,

but did not disturb Kazu and his steed.

They went on their way, to resume their night chorus

as though they had seen nothing new.

Sabata saw the faint light below

and swooped down to investigate,

her wariness giving way to curiosity.

Kazu felt like one would, on a sunny day,

when the sun disappears behind overcast skies,

awakening with a start, looking for rain.

He sprang to his feet and in one rapid motion,

a sphere of blue light appeared in his hand,

he held it high for all to see.

Sabata screamed from the pain in her eyes!

The light from the sphere had rendered her blind

but she fought like an eagle to hold her place in the air!

A dark storm cloud appeared above Kazu;

He knew that the dark one had at last arrived.

Streaks of lightning struck the ground around him

as the earth shook and rumbled 

and gale strength winds blew

toppling trees all around him.

Kazu spread his hands and a large,

golden ring of bright light appeared,

and surrounded the storm cloud.

A terrifying screech rent the air,

as Sabata fell to the ground in a heap,

wings over her face to hide it from light.

Kazu drew closer, at the ready to strike

if the Underworld being threatened at all.

She moved not; she just lay there on the wet ground, weeping.

Kazu dimmed his auric energy and approached.

Warily and tentatively he touched the being

that lay in a heap at his feet on the ground.

Bending down on one knee he lifted the wing

which covered her face and he froze as he did.

For there he saw the most perfect of faces,

a face that glowed pale as the silver moon above.

The Underworld princess, from darkness was she;

yet the prettiest thing his eyes had ever seen.

Cradling her head in his right hand, 

he knew this was not an evil foe,

but a defenseless creature unable to see.

Kazu gently laid his hand over her eyes;

A pale blue energy shone all around his hand.

Folding her wings, she sat up and blinked.

She could now see, as her vision cleared.

She was able to see the one who sought her

with her own eyes, for the first time.

A beautiful, golden light-being was he!

Indeed a treat for her newly-healed eyes.

She lay her cheek on his chest,

as one might with a protector or love,

and gently brushed his right shoulder with her hand.

She thanked him for the return of of her seeing.

For a brief time he sat with her head cradled on his chest,

duty and emotion fighting for space in his heart.

All was silent save for the usual night sounds

and the babbling of the near-by brook.

Then heart trumped mind and duty was damned!

They arose and danced, both free in the air.

For them the entire night sky lit up

as though filed with brightly glowing rainbows.

And that is the night where light and dark found each other,

and for one stunning moment in time were joined as one.

Thank you very much again, dear friends, for visiting my blog. Please share your thoughts with us, if you will. have a great Week.

✿ ڰۣ❤In Loving Light from the Fairy Lady❤ڰۣ✿

"Around-the-Lake-People"

Hi dear freind and followers.

If you follow the Aleutian Islands eastward you will come to the mainland of Alaska. It is on the mainland, near the delta of the Copper River and the town of Cordova that we find the Eyak People.

These people originated much further inland, closer to the river's source, the Copper Glacier. It was back there, in the hinterland, that they took advantage of one of the best stocks of wild salmon anyplace on Earth to feed themselves.

Owing to their small number, the Eyak faced pressure from their neighbors to the west, the Chugach. Their villages were frequently raided and their boundaries pushed, so they moved further downstream toward the coast and what was to become the town of Cordova. Intermarriage with their neighbors to the southeast, the Tlingit, led to assimilation of many Eyak into their nation. Today thate are no full-blooded Eyak among us.

This story is about the Little People as the Eyak saw them. You can find Hinchinbrook Island using Google Maps to see where the story is to have taken place. Yes, there is magic in this story, too. Please keep in mind that so much is relative to size. I hope that you find this tale to be pleasant.

"Around-the-Lake-People" (mankaditliadaxon'iyu)

This version of the legend comes from Birket-Smith and de Laguna's 1928 collection, "The Eyak Indians of the Copper River Delta, Alaska." The storyteller was identified as one Galushia Nelson.

Dwarfs as big as a thumb used to hunt and fish around the country. They were found around Strawberry Point (on Hinchinbrook Island, near Boswell Bay) at the small lake there. The little women row; the little man hunt and fish. A human captured a little man who had become tangled in some roots. The dwarf gave the man all his hunting outfit- spears and bow and arrows-to let him go. One spear with an agate point he hated to part with. 

When he was turned loose, he returned home, but his people had gone outside the breakers. He hollered for them to come back and get him. One of his relatives came through the breakers for him. They all started home in canoes and on the way they saw a mouse, which was a brown bear to them. They all landed to try and kill him. 

The little man without hunting implements was killed by the bear, for he had no way to defend himself. The other people killed the bear. The bear was cut upin small pieces and left there because he had killed one of their people. 

They put the body of the dead man in a canoe without examining it at all. His relatives took the body home. The wife ran down to meet her husband; she didn't know he was dead. The skin of his head had been pulled off. The wife and children ran down to meet him. They were happy that their man was coming home. 

The wife, when she saw her husband's head, tore a piece from the bottom of her skirt and bandaged his head. They took the body and placed it in front of the left front house-post. They left the body outside for eight days. On the eighth day they took the body inside.

Towards noon the body began to move. Only the wife was there. Right at noon he moved more and more until he lifted his head. He sat up and scratched his head. He asked his wife what had happened and she told him that a bear had killed him. He asked what they had done with the bear. She said they had killed it, cut it in bits, and left it there. He asked who had brought his body home. 

He told his wife not to worry about him, and left, taking two men with him. They went to Yakutatik. They were gone about a year. They came back at the time when the birds start to lay eggs. When the people saw them coming they were excited. Each man was coming in a separate canoe and all three were full of brown-bear skins. When they landed the people lifted them up and carried them to the house. The man was made chief of the tribe. 

When they had finished eating, he said to his wife: "I guess I got even with those bears."

He gave his oldest daughter to a man. She knew everything-all about making baskets and keeping house. She had already promised to marry another man, but she had to obey her father and left the first man. The first man asked her husband to dig clams with him. They were digging as the tide was coming in. He made the husband stay on a sand spit. He was drowned there and they never found the body. He turned into a shrimp or sand-hopper.

The other man went home and told several different stories about what had happened. The drowned man's wife had a dream that the man had caused her husband to be drowned by the tide and in the dream, her husband told her he had become a sand-hopper. People asked the man if that was true. He said yes. But they did nothing to him.

These dwarfs had many different tribes around the lake, like the different tribes of Indians.

Reference map

Thank you very much again, dear friends, for visiting my blog. Please share your thoughts with us, if you will. have a great Week.

✿ ڰۣ❤In Loving Light from the Fairy Lady❤ڰۣ✿

Aleut legends continued

Hi dear friends and followers.

It seems that the Aleuts have a fair number of legends to share. Here is one more. I hope that you enjoy it. Like so many legends, be they Roman, Greek, Norse, or Irish, it has elements of magic within it.

The Girl Who Searched for Her Lover

A terrible misfortune befell the people of a very large tribe. Of all the hunters that left the village, not one came back alive, nor was it known what had happened to them. In that tribe lived a beautiful young girl, who loved and was beloved by a brave hunter. She had joyfully consented to be his wife, but her parents objected.

The disappointed hunter had decided to drown his grief by going with the warriors to hunt. Older men cautioned against his hunting, but the young lover departed with the warriors. A month passed, but he did not return and was given up for lost by his tribe. Not so the young girl, who could not believe him dead. She felt she must go and search for him.

Secretly she made preparations, and one night she stole away quietly, taking her father's one-hatch kayak and a waterproof elk skin shirt. 

After some distance from her village, she ceased paddling, closed her eyes, and began singing. After a verse, she opened her eyes. Noticing the kayak drifting with the current, she closed her eyes again and sang some more. At the end of the second verse, she looked again and found the kayak drifting faster than before. Then she closed her eyes and sang for a long time.

When she looked again, the kayak was going so fast that she became alarmed but could not change her course. Her speed increased by the moment, then she heard the mighty roar of waterfalls. Since life without her lover was not worth living, she closed her eyes to await her fate.
Very swiftly the boat rushed forward. The roaring waters became powerful. Her heart nearly stopped beating from fright when she felt herself going down, down, down, then come suddenly to a standstill.

She was not hurt, but could neither get out of the kayak nor move it. The boat was stuck fast. Dawn approached as she lay there, wondering what would become of her and what had happened to her lover. At sunrise, she saw a kayak coming toward her with one man paddling.

The man exclaimed aloud, "Ha! Ha! I have another victim," as he placed a bow and arrow beside him with a two-edged knife attached to the tip. But as he drew nearer, he put away his weapons, thinking, "That is a woman." Then he called out, "If you are a woman, speak up, and I will not kill you, for I never kill women." She assured him that she was a woman, and he came and helped her out of her boat and seated her in his kayak. He paddled off with her.

They reached his own barrabara where he lived alone. She noticed many human heads scattered about. One she recognized as her lover's. She said nothing, but to herself she pledged vengeance. The man asked her to be his wife, and ordered her to cook deer and seal meat for them to eat. At bedtime, he pointed to a corner for her to sleep, while he slept in an opposite corner. She obeyed without questioning him.

Next morning, he led her to a smaller barrabara and showed her a number of headless bodies. He said, "These I do not eat; but I have three sisters living some distance from here, who eat human flesh only. It is for them I have killed these people. Each day I take one body to a different sister." He then picked up a corpse and his bow and arrow and walked away.

The young girl followed him to the place where the road forked. One path led to the right, one led to the left, and one led straight ahead. She noticed which one he took, then returned to his barrabara, where she busied herself, removing two posts from one of the walls. She dug out an underground passage for escape.

All of the extra dirt she carried to the sea, then cunningly concealed the passage. Toward evening, she cooked a good supper for him when he returned, eating in silence, then they retired, each to their own corner.

After breakfast next morning, he carried away another corpse. She took the bow and arrow, which he left behind, following him secretly. He took the left fork while she took the middle one. She hurried on, then cut across to the left fork and managed to reach the home of his sister before he arrived, killing her with the bow and arrow.

From there she ran to the homes of the other two sisters, killing them, before running back to the barrabara. He found all three sisters dead and was suspicious.

She was sitting on the barrabara when he returned. "You killed my sisters, now I will kill you," he cried out angrily, rushing for his bow and arrow. They were not in their usual place and he discovered them in her hands. He begged her to give them to him, promising to do her no harm. At first she refused, but he pleaded and promised until she trusted him and gave them to him.

As soon as they were his again, he shouted, "Now you shall die," and shot at her. She suddenly dropped through the smoke hole, out of sight, before the arrow could reach her. While he looked for the arrow, she crawled out through the underground passage and perched herself anew on top of the barrabara.

Her disappearance and sudden reappearance was a mystery to him. he shot at her again and again, but she disappeared each time mysteriously. At least, since he could not kill her, he said, "Take this bow and arrow and kill me."

"I do not want to kill you," she told him. "But I'm afraid you will kill me someday."

He swore never to hurt her, and she came down from the roof. Together they ate their supper and retired in the usual manner. But as he was about to fall asleep, she moved closer to him and began talking to him, keeping him awake the entire night.

For five days and five nights she tormented him in this way, giving him no time to sleep. On the sixth day, in spite of all she could do, he fell into a deep, deep sleep. Although she pinched him and pulled at him, she could not arouse him. She brought a block of wood from outside and placed it under his neck. Then, with a knife she had stolen from one of his sisters, she beheaded him.

In his kayak, she put his bow, arrow, and knife, then seated herself and paddled homeward by way of the falls. But there were no falls, as they had existed only through the evil of that man. When he died, the river flowed smoothly and steadily in its own original channel. She found her kayak, which had drifted onto the beach, and she tied it to his and paddled to her home.

Her people learned of her adventures and the evil man. The older men decreed his weapons be burned on the trash pile. Then the people rejoiced in the young girl's safe return and the safety of their tribe.

Thank you very much again, dear friends, for visiting my blog. Please share your thoughts with us, if you will. have a great Week.

✿ ڰۣ❤In Loving Light from the Fairy Lady❤ڰۣ✿

Two Aleut legends

Two Aleut legends

Hi dear friends and followers.

We are almost finished with our tour of the United States in search of legends, myths, and stories told by its first inhabitants, the Native Americans. The legends from the peoples of Alaska and Hawa'ii remain. I suppose that one could take weeks in research and retelling such stories but I am presenting an overview as opposed to an in-depth examination.

In Alaska there are seven main First Peoples: Aleuts, Yupiks, Inupiaks, Athabascan, Tshimtshian, Haida, and Tlingit. Today I present to you two legends from the Aleuts, those people who made their living from the ocean while living on the island archipelago we call the Aleutians.

The smallest group of Alaska Natives, the Aleuts, made their living from the rich sea that surrounded their home on the Aleutian Islands. Their food, clothing, shelter, heat, and tools came from creatures living in the ocean or along its shorelines. Exceptional mariners, the Aleuts sometimes paddled hundreds of miles in skin-covered canoes, (kayaks), called bidarkas to trade, visit, hunt, or stage daring raids on enemy villages. Ducks, otters, whales, and fish were among the animals used by the Aleuts.

Here are the two legends. I like the second one better.
The Fight for a Wife

Once upon a time there was a boy who lived all alone, far from other people. He had a habit of lifting stones, at first small ones, then larger and larger ones as he grew and became stronger. When he was old enough to marry, he decided to go out in the world to get a wife, peaceably if he could, but if not, then by fighting for her. 

After several days' paddling, he came by night to a village. In one hut he saw a light, so he went there and found a young girl who gave him something to eat and a place to sleep. The whole village heard that a stranger had arrived. Soon an old man presented himself and shouted through the window of the hut: "Our champion would like to try his strength with the new arrival." The girl explained the meaning of the challenge to the young man and advised him to accept.

The first test consisted of a hunt for beluga. Watched by all the people, the village champion and the stranger went off, each in his own boat. In the evening when they returned, it was the newcomer who had killed the largest number of the animals and was declared the winner.

On the following day another challenge was delivered in the same manner. This time the contest was a boat race around a large island facing the village. When the rivals met on the beach, their bidarkas (boats) were side by side. Between them was placed a bow and arrow, to be used by the victor on the vanquished.

The two men got away together, and for a time the contest was in doubt as first one and then the other took the lead. But as the race progressed, the local champion gradually drew ahead of his rival until they lost sight of one another. So certain of the outcome were the old men on the shore that they did not even stay to see the finish. But the newcomer spoke to his boat, which was made of beluga skin, and commanded it to change into the beluga, swim under the water, and overtake the other boat. 

When the young man was close to shore, he and his boat came up, assumed their usual shapes, and landed. When the local champion had lost sight of his rival, he had slowed up because he felt certain of victory. 

Great was his astonishment and fright when he saw the young stranger on the beach with the bow in his hand. He had little time to think, for the twice-victorious hero shot him.
While the hero was eating supper at the young girl's home, an old man came to ask him to go to the beach and withdraw the arrow from the defeated champion, since no one else could do it. The newcomer went to the beach and pulled the arrow out, and the villager became well again.

On the evening of the third day, the young man was challenged once more, this time to a wrestling match in the village Large House. In its center was a fenced-in pit containing many bones and shaman worms. The victor was to throw his opponent into the pit, where the worms would eat him. Life, love, glory hung on the outcome, and both men fought hard and long. In this contest the young man's strength, derived from lifting stones, proved decisive. With a skillful movement he picked the local champion off his feet and heaved him into the pit, and the village declared the young man to be the new village champion. He went to the home of his defeated rival to claim the spoils of war, which included two wives, furs, and all the luxurious possessions of a rich man. 

The Girl Who Married the Moon

Long ago there were two girl cousins who lived in a large tribal village. Those evenings when the moon was out, they liked to go to the beach and play. Claiming the moon as their husband, they spent the night gazing and making love to the man in the moon.

For shelter they had propped up a bidarka (large skin boat), and during the night they changed positions several times, so they could always face the moon. In the morning, upon returning home, their parents always questioned them about their whereabouts. The girls told them how they had watched the moon until it passed from sight. Many of their family heard them tell how much they loved the moon, always wishing they were moons.

One evening, with other young people of their tribe, they amused themselves on the beach. Night came and the others returned to their homes, but the two girls remained. When the moon went away out of their sight, one complained, "Why does the moon hide so suddenly? I like to play with him and enjoy his moonlight." "I, too," said the other. It was not yet midnight, and the moon was already behind the clouds.

Up to now they had not noticed howdishevelled their appearance was from playing. They became startled when they heard the voice of a young man as he approached them. "You have been professing your love for me," he said. "I have observed you and know you love me, therefore, I have come for you. But since my work is very hard, I can only take one of you--the more patient one."

Each begged to be chosen. He said, "I have decided to take both of you. Now close your eyes and keep them closed." So he grabbed each by the hair, and the next moment they were rushing through the air. The patience of one wore thin. As she opened her eyes, she felt herself drop down, down, down, leaving her hair behind in his hands. She found herself beside the bidarka where she had left it.

The patient cousin kept her eyes closed the entire time, and in the morning found herself in a comfortable barrabara, the home of the moon. There she lived as the wife of the moon, happy in loving him. Generally he slept during the day, as he worked all night.

Frequently he went away in the morning and returned in the evening. Sometimes he was gone from mid-day until midnight. His irregular schedule puzzled his wife. But he never offered an explanation to her of what he did in his absence.

His silence and indifference piqued the young bride. She waited as long as she could, until one day she said, "You go out every day, every evening, every night, and you never tell me what you do. What kinds of people do you associate with, while I am left behind?"

"I am not with other people, for there are not my kind of people here," he said. "I have important work to do, and I cannot be with you all the time."

"If your work is so hard, can you take me with you to help you sometimes?" she asked.

"My work is too hard for you," he replied. "I brought you up here, because I had no rest when you were down there. You and your lovely cousin were constantly staring at me and teasing me. Now stop your foolishness, you cannot help me. Stay home and be happy for me when I do return."

"Surely, you don't expect me to stay home all the time." She began to weep. "If I cannot go with you, can I go out by myself occasionally?"

"Of course, go anywhere you like, except in the two homes you see yonder. In the corner of each there is a curtain, under which you must never look." After this warning, he left his barrabara, and that night he looked paler than usual.

Later, she went out for a walk. Although she went far and in different directions, she saw no people. She tried several short trails, and on each saw a man lying face down. It gave her pleasure to kick them to disturb them. Each would turn and look at her with his one bright, sparkling eye and cry out, "Why do that to me? I am working and busy." She kicked all of them until she tired and ran home.

On her way she saw the two forbidden barrabaras, and she just had to look inside. A curtain hid a corner in the first. She couldn't resist the desire to look under the curtain. There she beheld a half-moon, a quarter-moon, and a small piece of moon. In the second barrabara, she found a full moon, one almost full, and another more than half-full.

Thinking about the beautiful pieces, she decided it would be such fun and no harm to try on one to see how she would feel. The one almost full pleased her most, so she placed it on one side of her face and there it stuck. She cried, "Ai, Ai, Y-a-h, Ai, Ai, Yah!" She tugged and pulled but the moon would not come off. For fear her husband would soon arrive, she hastened home, threw herself on the bed, and covered that side of her face.

There he found her, complaining that her face pained her. He suspected the real cause and went out to investigate. Upon his return he asked her about the missing moon. "Yes," she admitted. "I tried it on for fun, and now I cannot take it off." He laughed and laughed at her. Gently he pulled it off for her.

Seeing his good humor, she told him of her eventful day, especially the sport she had with the one-eyed people scattered about the sky.

"They are stars," he said reprovingly. "Since of your own free will you put on this moon, you can wear it from now on and help me in my hard work. I will finish my rounds with the full moon, and after that you can start in and finish out the month while I rest."

To this happy arrangement she consented gladly. Since that time the two have shared the hard work between them--the man in the moon and his lady in the moon.

Thank you very much again, dear friends, for visiting my blog. Please share your thoughts with us, if you will. have a great Week.

✿ ڰۣ❤In Loving Light from the Fairy Lady❤ڰۣ✿