Tales of the constellations

Lyubov Talimonova

Tales of the Constellations

Translated from the Russian original by David Parfitt

Edited by Patricia Lauren

© Lyubov Talimonova, text, illustrations, design, 2012

Preface to the first edition

My young friend!

In the evenings a multitude of stars blaze in the sky above us. This is the Cosmos, and it reminds us of ourselves, of the fact that the Earth and all of us living on it are only a small part of the infinite Universe. And if you know how to dream, then you will see that the stars in the dark sky are joined together in constellations – fantastical figures of animals and birds. And these constellations are described in the stories and legends of Lyubov Talimonova.

Lyuba is a little older than you – just over twenty years old – but she has already written several books, and her paintings have been exhibited in many cities both in our country and abroad.

When I flew to the space station “Mir”, together with Sergei Avdeev and the French cosmonaut Michel Tonini, we took some of Lyuba’s pictures with us. The artist’s kind heart was evident from the symbols in these pictures, and this gave us warmth while we were so far from Earth.

You will also feel this warmth, my young friend, when you read these stories, in which good people, birds and animals understand each other, and only the bad ones cannot get on with the world around them.

Anatoly Solovivov

Russian pilot and cosmonaut

The Astrologer Lee

Once upon a time there lived a girl by the name of Lee, who was an astrologer. She liked to travel, to observe the stars, the Sun and the Moon and to predict people’s fortunes using the stars.

On her wanderings across the Earth, Lee met artists and scientists who threw their instruments up into the sky, as well as good and wicked kings and queens, whom wizards turned into constellations.

The astrologer saw many times how princesses became goldfish and wonderful birds flew up into the heavens to become bright stars for eternity. Lee found these stories very meaningful, sometimes sad, sometimes happy, so she carefully noted them down on separate pages.

Then one day, sitting on the seashore and looking through her telescope at the brightest, most distant stars in the night sky, Lee remembered the basket in which she had kept fallen stars and pages with the stories written on them. There were so many pages that they almost did not fit into the basket. Lee took her magic wand, waved it over the basket and the separate pages of serious and humorous stories turned into a book. The stars that had fallen from the sky became wonderful pictures. In this way the “Tales of the Constellations” was created.

While travelling across the whole Earth, Lee the astrologer gave the book to adults and children alike. All of these people are still amazed by the mysterious glow of distant stars, enjoy the beauty of the world and love to read stories. Since the book is magical, whenever Lee gives a copy to someone, another appears in her basket.

If one of these books has found its way into your hands, if the stories of Lee the astrologer make the delicate strings of your spirit sing, then please raise your eyes and look again at the starry sky, remember that the world is mysterious and beautiful, and smile.

The Legend of the Milky Way

Long ago, at the edge of the world, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, lived the Selurts. They were a fine people, tall and handsome. The Selurts studied the night sky, calculated eclipses of the Sun and Moon, followed the phases of the Moon, compiled a calendar and built megaliths.[1]

The Selurts never fought; they did not even know the meaning of war. Their life flowed peacefully and quietly. Then one day, a proud eagle brought bad news that a hostile tribe was advancing on the Selurts. The Selurts understood the language of birds and the eagle told them that the tribe was heavily armed.

There was nothing left for the Selurts to do but gather their things and leave for the mountains, or scatter to the islands. They abandoned their native lands, leaving behind megaliths and a great deal of knowledge encoded in symbols and drawings.

After the Selurts had left, the hostile tribe settled on their lands. The population of the tribe grew rapidly and the land soon became too small for them. The warriors assembled and decided to drive the kind Selurts from the mountains and islands.

The warriors encircled the mountains and then climbed right up to the Selurts’ highest village. But imagine their surprise when they found it deserted. Where could the people have gone? Down the mountains? Impossible, because they would have been noticed. Perhaps the Selurts had climbed higher still?

The warriors climbed to the very peak of the mountain but did not find anyone there either. Where could the Selurts have gone to from the summit of the mountain? Only up into the sky! The warriors looked up and across the sky they saw a shining path made from sand, pearls and tears.

The Selurts had been inhabitants of the coast and when they left for the mountains, they had taken sand and pearls with them. Leaving for the cosmos, they had dropped the sand and pearls… and tears.

No-one knows where the Selurts went, but behind them on Earth they left megaliths and, across the sky – the Milky Way … a path of sand, pearls and tears.

The Great Dog and the Little Dog

Canis Major and Canis Minor

In a village there lived a family and on the whole it was a good family. However, there were two brothers who were wicked. They were always arguing and squabbling.

At breakfast they would argue over a spoon, at dinner over a piece of bread and at supper over an apple. They argued all the time, wherever they went. They could not even walk along the same road together.

When the brothers wanted to get married they both chose the same girl; this caused them to fight again. The girl knew that the brothers hated one another so she said: “Whichever one of you can run between these two stones the fastest will be my fiance”.

She knew that the brothers would never run to the same stone. And that is exactly what happened; instead of running from one stone to the other, the brothers ran off in different directions to get away from one another.

They ran and ran, all the way to the sky itself, and there they stayed.

Even now, after turning into the constellations of the Great Dog and Little Dog, the brothers are still running across the heavens.

Perseus and Andromeda. The Lion and the Little Lion

Perseus, Andromeda, Leo and Leo Minor

Once upon a time there lived two Kings who were neighbours. One King was very good but the other was very bad.

The bad King ruled over a large kingdom and had a son called Bert. Unlike his father, Bert was good; he would spend nearly all day reading books and knew many languages.

The good King had a daughter called Aris, who also grew up to be very good, intelligent and beautiful.

Bert and Aris became friends and Bert wanted to marry Princess Aris. When the bad King found out about this he became very angry and went to war against the neighbouring kingdom. The good King had a smaller kingdom and a smaller army, so what could he do?

The bad King defeated the good King and captured him, together with daughter Aris. He sent the girl into the fields to do backbreaking work. When Bert tried to stand up for Aris, the bad King sent him to work in the mines. Aris and Bert could no longer see one another.

The bad King thought long and hard about what to do with the good King. He found an evil wizard and ordered him to turn the good King into a foul creature such as a toad or a snake.

The evil wizard tried, but only managed to turn the good King into a lion. The lion turned out to be large and handsome with a huge mane.

When Aris found out that her father had been turned into a lion she burst into tears. She reached out her arms and rose up into the sky. And there she stayed. One day Bert was walking home after work. It was already dark. Suddenly he heard the voice of his fiancee coming from somewhere. Bert raised his eyes to the sky and saw Aris; she was calling to him with outstretched arms. Without a moment’s hesitation Bert stepped up into the sky, where he was reunited with Aris. He took her by the hand and they were never parted again.

Meanwhile, the bad King became even more angry because the good King had been turned into a handsome lion rather than a horrible toad.

The bad King then ordered the wizard to turn him into an even bigger and more handsome lion than the good King. But however hard the wizard tried he could only manage to turn the bad King into a small, ugly lion with a short, tangled mane. The little lion was furious and started to chase the big handsome lion.

The big lion ran all over the Earth, then he jumped into the sky to be near his daughter Aris and her fiance Bert. The little lion jumped after the big lion, but fell short and found himself on the other side of the Heavens.

Now we can always see Aris and Bert in the sky, happy and holding hands. Not far away strolls the Great Lion, and somewhere in another part of the sky the Little Lion rushes about in fury.

Pegasus

Pegasus

Once upon a time in a village there lived a man by the name of Prat. He was an artist and every day he went to the rocky seashore to paint. Prat saw the world in his own way and not everyone could understand his pictures. He painted music, the Universe and the Earth seen from above. He was never short of ideas.

Prat lived on a farm with only his white horse for company. He really loved the horse; she did not do any heavy work about the farm. Every day she would follow the artist to the seashore and watch him paint.

But one day a tragedy occurred, the greatest tragedy for an artist; Prat ran out of new ideas and did not know what he should paint. This went on for several days.

Then, while Prat was sitting on the seashore and feeling sad, he suddenly noticed that his white horse was galloping straight towards a sheer cliff.

Prat closed his eyes so that he did not see his friend fall to his death. Then, when he finally opened his eyes, he saw that the horse had not fallen and been dashed on the rocks below. The white horse had grown wings and now she was flying.

Prat could not believe his eyes – his horse had gone right up into the sky and turned into the constellation Pegasus, which was now shining brightly.

The artist suddenly had the idea of painting the white horse with wings flying into the sky, so he reached for his paintbrush.

Since that time Prat has never been short of new ideas; he has painted many new and wonderful paintings. His horse, now the constellation Pegasus, continues to gallop across the heavens and provide inspiration to all the artists in the world.

The Archer, the Arrow and the Serpent

Sagittarius, Sagitta and Serpens

Near one of the villages stood a large stone – a megalith. The local inhabitants called it the Spirit-Stone. There was a legend that the ancient people who built the megalith placed their souls inside it. So the stone became a Spirit and everyone thought of it as a living thing.

What is more, the Spirit-Stone had healing powers. The blind were led to it and their sight was returned; the lame were able to walk again.

But the stone did not like bad people and did not allow them to come near it. It also did not like evil words. If anyone spoke such words in the presence of the Spirit-Stone they were struck dumb.

All the villagers loved the stone and often brought flowers to it.

In the village lived a man called Gaire and a woman called Vella, who were neighbours. Vella was beautiful and everyone thought she was good, but she was in fact a wicked, cunning person.

Gaire fell in love with her and asked her to marry him. Vella said that she would only marry Gaire if he would test his strength against the Spirit-Stone and overcome it.

At first Gaire would not agree; the stone was good and kind so why should he fight it? But finally Vella persuaded him. So one morning, Gaire took a bow and arrows and went to the Spirit-Stone with Vella.

While Vella hid in some bushes, Gaire lifted the bow, drew the string back and sent an arrow right at the heart of the stone. But when the arrow neared the stone it suddenly changed direction and flew up into the sky, where it turned into the constellation of the Arrow.

Then, from the bushes, Gaire heard a hiss and a rustle of grass. He glanced round and saw a serpent that was hissing and trying to slip away as fast as possible.

No-one ever saw Vella again. Gaire pined for her and felt ashamed that he had offended the Spirit-Stone. So one day he gathered his things and left the village, never to return, but in the sky there appeared the constellations of the Archer, the Arrow and the Serpent.

The Sea Monster and the Water-Carrier

Hydra and Aquarius

There once lived a King and his family in a faraway kingdom. All was well in the kingdom until one day, the Queen died and the King was left alone with his son. The boy’s name was Gilt and he loved to read books and knew a great deal.

The King and Gilt were extremely upset at the death of the Queen. As time passed the pain and sorrow eased and the King married for a second time.

The new Queen was beautiful but wicked; she had a son who was lazy and just as wicked as his mother. The Queen soon began to hate Gilt for his intelligence and kindness.

The Queen thought that Gilt would stop her son from taking the throne, so she demanded that the King drive Gilt from the palace.

At first the King would not agree to this, but eventually he gave in and sent his son away.

Gilt needed to somehow make a living, but because he was the King’s son he had not learned a trade. Gilt became a water-carrier and carried water around the town. His water was always pure and cold with the freshest taste.

Soon Gilt became the best and most well-known water-carrier in the town.

Rumours about him reached the Queen. She flew into a rage and summoned her most wicked sorcerers, who turned Gilt to stone.

Even though Gilt had turned to stone, pure fresh water continued to flow from his jug. When people came to the stone-man for water they could hear how a heart was still beating inside the stone.

Everyone in the town talked of nothing except the stone-man that gave wonderful water. Again the rumours reached the Queen. The Queen was beside herself with anger, so one night she went to the stone-man and smashed it into tiny pieces.

The Queen thought that now she would be free of Gilt and the memory of him for good. The people of the town were angry and upset when they saw that the stone-man was now just a heap of rubble. Some began to cry bitterly.

Then suddenly, a fountain of pure, cold water began to spurt from the earth where the fragments lay and the jet of water magically lifted the fragments of the stone-man into the sky. There the stone fragments joined once more and Gilt came to life again as the constellation of the Water-Carrier.

Some time later, on the spot where the fountain had appeared beneath the fragments of the stone-man, a whole lake formed around a pure spring. All the people came to fetch water as it was the best for miles around. Everyone talked about nothing but Gilt the water-carrier and his spring, and once more he became famous.

One night the wicked Queen glanced up at the sky and saw Gilt the water-carrier. She was so angry that she turned into a sea monster.

The constellations of the Water-Carrier and the Sea Monster can still be seen in the sky.

The Fishes and the Southern Fish

Pisces and Piscis Austrinus

In the land of the megaliths there lived two sisters, Uta and Nuta. They knew a great deal about the sciences. Using the megaliths, Uta could calculate the phases of the Moon and its eclipses. Nuta knew everything about the motion of the Sun and could predict its eclipses.

In the sea, not far from the shore, was an island. This island was a good place to observe the Sun, but a megalith needed to be built there that was bigger than all the others.

Many young men courted Uta and Nuta, but the sisters decided that they would only marry someone if they could build the new megalith on the island. No-one had so far managed to do this.

One day, a man called Ort arrived from a nearby village and he set about building the megalith. Ort worked for almost a year; he found a suitable stone, polished it and transported it to the island.

One morning Uta, Nuta and all the villagers saw a huge megalith on the island. Ort had done what Uta and Nuta had asked, but the sisters were both happy and sad at the same time. They were sad because now they would have to part as one of them would marry Ort and go with him to his village.

Uta and Nuta thought for a long time about what they should do as they did not want to be parted. Then one day the sisters disappeared from the village and however hard the people searched, Uta and Nuta were nowhere to be found. All at once the constellation known as the Fishes appeared in the sky. Ort looked up at the two silvery fishes and suddenly understood that it was Uta and Nuta.

Ort was very kind and certainly did not want to part the sisters. He wanted to tell Uta and Nuta this, so he turned into a large golden fish and rose up into the heavens. There he told Uta and Nuta that he would not separate them and they could always stay together.

So the sisters stayed together for ever and now we can see them in the constellation known as the Fishes. Ort went to another part of the sky and turned into the constellation of the Southern Fish.

The Scales

Libra

In the hills there was a village. It was called the village with the Green Stone for the reason that in the centre of the village stood a big green stone. People considered the stone to be magic as it helped good people but would not let bad people near it.

If a person came to the stone for advice or with dreams of good things, then all their dreams would come true. People often gathered around the green stone. They believed that the presence of the stone made it impossible to deceive or tell lies. If there was a festival in the village then it would take place around the magic stone.

In the village lived two brothers, Unas and Rud. Their parents had died and left the brothers a large pot of gold and precious stones, as well as many wise books. Both Unas and Rud wanted the pot of gold; they thought it was better than having a large library.

A year passed, then two, and the brothers still could not divide up the inheritance. Then the villagers decided to gather around the green stone and ask its advice on how to settle the brothers’ dispute.

So one morning all the villagers assembled around the stone to ask it for help. Suddenly the big stone began to shake and a door appeared from somewhere. The door burst open and out of the stone came a girl carrying a pair of scales. She went up to the people, took the pot of gold and placed it in one cup of the scales.

Then she took a single page from one of the wise books and placed it in the other cup.

Everyone froze with amazement as one page of the book, yellow with age, outweighed the pot of gold and precious stones.

Without a word, the girl went through the stone door and disappeared.

The scales that she had left on the ground suddenly began to rise up into the sky and, shining in the heavens, became the constellation known as the Scales.

Now, whenever people look up to the sky they see the Scales, where a page of an ancient book outweighs a pot of gold to remind the people of true value.

And the brothers, Unas and Rud, settled their differences. They divided all the gold and precious stones among the villagers, but kept all the books, and looked after them as the most valuable thing in the world.

The Lynx, the Eagle and the Scorpion

Lynx, Aquila and Scorpius

On an island there lived a princess called Princess Belta. She was very beautiful, kind and intelligent. The princess lived with her father, who was King of the island, and her stepmother. Belta’s stepmother did not like her and was always thinking of new ways to hurt her.

Such an opportunity soon arose. A prince from a neighbouring island had asked for Belta’s hand in marriage. The day of the wedding was already fixed.

But how could the wicked Queen agree to something that would make Belta happy? She shut herself in her room and summoned all the evil in the world to come to her assistance. And the evil came.

A stranger arrived on the island. He was very tall and dressed all in black. His hat was pulled right down over his eyes and he never took it off. He introduced himself as a Prince from a distant island, who had come to ask for Belta’s hand in marriage. The Princess was horrified as she was scared of the man in black; the King did not like the new suitor either.

But the Queen was happy and insisted on Belta marrying the man in black. She spent a long time trying to persuade the King. The wicked Queen said that the Black Prince was much richer than the Good Prince, and that he would make Belta wealthy and happy.

The King finally agreed to give his daughter to the prince from the distant island.

But the Good Prince was very unhappy. With the help of a wizard he turned into a large eagle and began to circle above the man in black. The eagle then flew down and tore the hat from the Black Prince’s head. Everyone was paralysed with fear.

The man had only one eye in his forehead, and this eye shone with evil.

The man in black tried to snatch the Princess and run away. But the great eagle threw sand into the monster’s eye, which forced him to let the Princess go.

Meanwhile, Belta had floated unnoticed into the sky. She had turned into a lynx so that she could leave quietly, as nothing moves more silently than a lynx. Together with the lynx, a great eagle rose up in to the sky – the Good Prince.

The one-eyed man in black, having rubbed the sand from his eye, ran after the Prince and Princess, but he could not catch them.

But in the heavens, together with the constellations of the Lynx and the Eagle, appeared the constellation of the Scorpion. You see, the evil one-eyed man, when he reached the sky, had turned into a big black scorpion with one eye.

The Lyre and the Whale

Lyra and Cetus

On a small island there was a village where lived a girl called Lin-Lan. She lived alone and had to work hard to keep her little house in order.

When the daily work was finished, Lin-Lan would go to the seashore, sit on a big stone right beside the sea and sing.

Eor, the mermaid, loved her singing more than anything. Every evening she swam up to the seashore and listened to Lin-Lan’s songs. Eor had a friend who was a big blue whale; he also liked music and would swim to shore to listen to Lin-Lan.

One day the kind mermaid decided to show Lin-Lan how grateful she was for her wonderful singing and gave her a magical lyre. The lyre would play any melody that Lin-Lan wished.

At sunrise and sunset, Lin-Lan could be found on the seashore with the lyre in her hands. Her wonderful singing was accompanied by beautiful music.

The mermaid was happy and the blue whale swam deep and then rose to the surface, releasing a great fountain of water to show how pleased he was.

With each day, Lin-Lan’s singing became better and better; the lyre played melodies each one more wonderful than the one before.

Lin-Lan’s singing and playing soon became well known throughout the island and people even travelled from other islands just to hear her music.

Then one evening, when Lin-Lan was sitting on the seashore and singing, Eor swam up to her and asked her a question. Would Lin-Lan like her music to be heard by all the inhabitants of the Earth and the sky?

Lin-Lan replied that of course she would like to make everyone happy with her music.

Then Eor told the girl to take her magical lyre, run her hand across its strings and place the instrument on the whale’s back. Lin-Lan was a little surprised but she did what the mermaid had told her. She plucked the strings and the magical lyre itself began to play all the wonderful melodies and songs that Lin-Lan liked to play and sing most of all.

Then Lin-Lan placed the lyre on the whale’s back, and the whale and lyre began to rise together higher and higher into the sky.

The lyre suddenly began to play louder; all the people on the Earth and in the sky could hear the wonderful music. And so the constellation of the Lyre appeared in the sky.

The big whale also remains in the heavens as the constellation of the Whale. He plunges deep into the waters of the heavenly ocean, rises to the surface and releases a huge fountain of water. He is happy listening to the beautiful music of the magical lyre, while Lin-Lan joins in with her singing from the Earth below.

The Charioteer and the Little Horse

Auriga and Equuleus

Once there lived two Kings, Gati and Dati. They were neighbours but did not get on with one another – they were forever arguing and could never share anything.

Dati had a son and Gati had a daughter. When the two planned to marry, Dati said that his neighbour’s daughter was not intelligent or beautiful enough to marry his son. And Gati declared that his neighbour’s son was not worthy of his daughter.

But most often Dati and Gati argued about who owned which piece of land. The argument had been going on for years, sometimes dying down and then flaring up again.

One day, Dati went off hunting and Gati was travelling over his estate in his chariot. The two Kings met at the boundary between the kingdoms, and Gati declared that Dati’s horse had strayed onto his land. Dati replied that it was Gati in his chariot who had trespassed onto his land.

This was the start of another argument that went on for many years. Whenever the two Kings met they would say nothing other than: “Horse!”

“Chariot!”

“Horse!”

In the meantime, the kingdoms fell into decline and people began to abandon their villages. Finally the peasants could stand it no longer and turned to the heavens to settle this terrible argument between Dati and Gati.

One morning a wanderer arrived in the village – a grey-haired old man with a long white beard who claimed to have been a judge. All the peasants began to beg him to help them by settling the dispute between the Kings.

The old man agreed and asked them to call Dati and Gati to him. The Kings rushed to see the judge as fast as they could; each tried to tell their side of the story at the same time. But other than the words “horse” and “chariot” it was impossible to understand anything.

The old man looked at them for a long time, and then said:

“I see that there is no way to settle your dispute. The only solution is to send you into the sky. There will be enough space and time for your arguments and you will not disturb anyone.

But in the sky you will take it in turns to be a charioteer and a horse. Dati will draw the chariot across the heavens for a year, and for the next year Gati will lead Dati. And so on, until you make up!”

He struck the ground with his staff and Gati turned into a charioteer and Dati into a horse. When the old man struck the ground for a second time the horse and charioteer rose up into the sky.

So first Dati led Gati, and then Gati led Dati across the heavens. Since we can still see the constellations of the Charioteer and the Little Horse in the sky, it means that the Kings have still not made their peace, but continue to argue.

The Bull

Taurus

Long ago there lived a wild bull. He was big and strong with curved horns and was the leader of his herd. No wild animal dared to attack the herd while he watched over it. Even wolves and tigers were afraid of the big bull’s horns and hooves. The herd grew and flourished.

In a nearby village lived a tame bull. He worked in the fields, pulling a plough; he was fed and looked after.

One day the tame bull complained to the wild bull that his life was hard; he pulled the plough from morning till evening, day after day; it was so boring.

“It must be nice for you to be free, brother. You can go where you like and do what you want,” said the tame bull.

The wild bull thought it over and then said “You know what, brother, why don’t we change places for a while? I will plough the field and you can taste freedom.”

Of course the tame bull happily agreed. The wild bull harnessed himself to the plough and toiled from morning till evening in the field. He worked well as he was very strong and sturdy and people were pleased with him.

But things did not work out so well for the tame bull. As soon as even a small wolf came near him he let out a bellow and charged into the middle of the herd to save himself. Word soon spread about this new bull, and the herd was soon reduced by attacks from wild animals. The tame bull grew thin and constantly trembled with fear.

One day the tame bull came to the village and said to the wild bull that he had had enough of freedom. It was not as easy or safe as he had first thought. He was better off tilling the fields; even though it was boring, he always knew that people would feed and water him, as well as protect him from wild animals.

The wild bull smiled, handed over the plough and returned to his herd. He led them far beyond the hills where there were good pastures and the herd soon began to grow again.

Then one day the wild bull led his herd into the sky. From there he watches over all the herds on Earth, so that they grow and flourish. The constellation became known as the Bull, in honour of the strong, brave bull with the curved horns.

The Hare, the Toucan and the Crab

Lepus, Tucana and Cancer

In a village lived a hunter named Urt. He was a wicked and cruel man who would kill any animal he came across in the forest and he would shoot birds just for fun.

In the forest there lived a wood-fairy called Nis. She had bright red hair and her amber eyes shone with kindness and happiness.

Nis was very angry that Urt was killing the animals and birds in the ancient forest so she decided to teach him a lesson. The fairy summoned the fastest hare that she could find and ordered him to pretend to be lame in order to lure the hunter deep into the forest.

One morning, when Urt was setting off to hunt, he caught sight of the hare limping badly on the forest path. Urt decided that this was an easy catch. He began to laugh and reached for his bow and arrows.

But just as he was about to fire the hare cunningly took refuge in the bushes. The hunter became angry and decided to catch the lame hare come what may. But whenever he decided to shoot the hare darted quickly away.

Suddenly, when Urt ran out into a clearing, he heard ringing laughter. The hunter glanced round and saw the wood-fairy, who was laughing at Urt’s unsuccessful hunting.

Now this made the wicked hunter more determined to catch the hare and he let fly one arrow after another into the bushes.

But then the clever hare jumped out of the bushes and ran right up into the heavens. Urt froze with amazement, but again heard Nis laughing. He turned round to fire an arrow at the fairy, but Nis suddenly turned into a multi-coloured bird and flew up into the sky.

Urt took fright and tried to back away into the forest, but before he knew it he had turned into a crab. Then, in the heavens, there appeared the constellations of the Hare, the Toucan and the Crab.

The Dove, the Fox and the Dragon

Columba, Vulpecula and Draco

In a quiet and peaceful village by a river lived a brother and sister, Uor and Tes. Uor was strong and skilful and was the best archer in the village. Tes was very beautiful, kind and intelligent. There was nothing that she did not know and nothing that she could not do.

All the villagers liked and respected the brother and sister. But rumours of Tes’s beauty and kindness spread far and wide, even to the most distant tribe in the land.

When Mar, the chief warrior and archer of this warlike tribe, heard about the beautiful Tes he vowed to fight Uor and marry his beautiful sister.

The wicked Mar gathered his troops and set off to attack the peaceful village. Uor and Tes learned in advance of the enemy’s invasion plans. They heard this news from the birds, whose language they understood.

Tes thought long and hard about what to do to save the village. The brother and sister went out to meet Mar’s forces, and Uor challenged Mar to fight. The wicked Mar burst into laughter, took his bow and arrow, and aimed directly at Uor. But just as Mar released the arrow, Uor turned into a white dove and flew up into the sky. No matter how many times Mar fired, not one arrow hit the dove.

Then he threw away the bow and arrows and began to look for Tes, but she had disappeared. The soldiers had noticed that a red fox had followed the white dove into the sky. Mar then realised that this was the beautiful Tes.

Once more he began to fire arrows at the dove and the red fox, but all of sudden the dove flew to one edge of the heavens and the fox ran to the other edge. Now Mar did not know who to fire at and in a rage he broke his bow and arrow and turned into a dragon.

Thereafter, in the sky appeared the constellations of the Dove, the Fox and the Dragon.

The Wolf

Lupus

In a forest lived a pack of grey wolves. They did what wolves normally do – hunted, rested and howled at the Moon at night. But one day their routine was disrupted. A new fluffy little wolf-cub was born into the pack, but he was completely white.

The cub looked at all the round blue eyes and did not understand why the adult wolves were looking at him so suspiciously. Why was there anger in their eyes and why did they stop the other wolf-cubs from playing with him?

There was much he did not understand but he soon got used to being lonely.

Time passed and still no-one would play with him, so he taught himself everything that a wolf should know.

When the white wolf-cub grew into an adult wolf he was still white and the pack would not accept him.

The grey wolves said that a white wolf would spoil their hunting as he could be seen too easily. In fact, one white wolf among all the grey ones would be a disgrace to the pack.

The grey wolves decided to get rid of the white wolf. They made a plan; while the pack were out hunting, the white wolf would be blamed for making a mistake and letting their prey escape. The wolves shouted at the white wolf and said that because of him the pack would go hungry.

This happened again and again, and the grey wolves said that they did not need such a useless hunter, especially a white one.

The white wolf with blue eyes left the pack and wandered for several days in the forest. He knew that wolves must live in a pack and could not survive on their own.

The white wolf decided to go to a high cliff above the river and throw himself off onto the rocks below, but when he came out of the forest, he saw another white wolf who was also heading for the river. They looked at one another, smiled and walked side by side up to the cliff edge.

When they reached the very edge they saw yet another white wolf. He looked at the two others and turned away from the edge of the cliff.

The three white wolves went back into the forest. There they met some more white wolves, and then more. In the bushes they found some abandoned white wolf-cubs. Thus a whole pack of white wolves was formed.

But the grey wolves still outnumbered the white wolves, and they tried their hardest to drive the white wolves out of the forest.

Then one day the white wolves left the woods. They had grown tired of living in a grey forest among grey wolves and they set off in search of a new, lighter forest.

Perhaps the leader of the white pack, the white wolf with blue eyes, led his pack into the sky because, you see, after the white wolves left the wood, the constellation of the Wolf appeared in the sky. Each night we can see the big wolf with the blue eyes leading his pack across the heavens.

The Dolphin

Delphinus

In a village lived a girl called Etta. She had no parents and lived alone in a little house. Each day she went to the high rocky cliffs by the sea and sometimes climbed down the steep path to the water itself.

Etta was an artist and she liked to paint by the sea most of all.

One day she was sitting and painting right beside the water. Suddenly she noticed that a large black dolphin had swum up to the shore and was watching what she was doing. Etta threw the dolphin a piece of sugar and he leapt up, catching it in mid-air. When the dolphin surfaced again there was a merry twinkle in his eyes.

After that the dolphin came to the shore every day to play with the girl. She always brought him a treat. Each day the dolphin gave Etta a present of cockleshells and shiny pebbles of all colours; he also brought her pearls. The girl eventually accumulated a whole box of pearls and the shiny pebbles turned out to be valuable jewels.

In this way, Etta became rich and she bought herself a new house and new clothes. But despite this, she remained just as kind and went to the sea each day to paint a little and call on her friend. She named the dolphin Higi. He continued to bring Etta precious stones and she brought him treats.

Then one day a nice man came from a nearby village and proposed to Etta. The day of the wedding was set and after the wedding Etta and her husband would journey to his village.

On the day of leaving, Etta came to the sea to say goodbye to Higi. She cried bitterly as it was hard for her to part from the dolphin. But there was a twinkle in Higi’s eyes.

When Etta went to her husband’s village she never suspected that the dolphin would swim across the sea after her.

In the new village Etta grew sad and abandoned her painting. Her husband was a kind, intelligent person and he advised her to take up her paints again and go down to the sea, which she did. How she smiled with pleasure when she saw Higi by the shore!

The dolphin leapt out of the water with happiness. Then he dived and did not appear for a long time, but when he surfaced a necklace of pink pearls landed at Etta’s feet.

Higi dived deep once more, surfaced again and leapt so high that he ended up in the sky.

Each evening Etta saw her kind friend in the sky. Higi was smiling at her from above and his eyes were gleaming.

Etta and the dolphin were happy. They could see one another every day.

What is more, everyone can see the kind, cheerful Higi, since he turned into the constellation of the Dolphin and shines brightly in the heavens.

The Phoenix, Cassiopeia, Orion and the Centaur

Phoenix, Cassiopeia, Orion and Centaurus

In a village lived Meir and Nan. They both fell in love with a girl called Ulara. She was beautiful and seemed to be a very good person, but in fact she was wicked, greedy and cunning.

Ulara promised to marry the man who would be first to catch and bring to her the bird of life : the Phoenix. The bird of life could fulfil any wish and Ulara wanted so much to be queen of the world, to rule over everyone and to become rich and powerful.

Meir and Nan went off in search of the Phoenix. They walked for a long time through the forest. Ulara followed unnoticed behind Meir and Nan. All of a sudden they came to a clearing around an ancient oak-tree and on one of its branches sat the bird of life.

Ulara, Meir and Nan ran towards the tree.

Meir thought: “I wish I had my bow and arrows with me so that I could shoot the Phoenix”.

Nan thought: “I wish I had the legs of a horse so that I could reach the tree first and catch the bird”.

Ulara dreamed of becoming ruler of the whole world.

From somewhere above a crown fell and landed on Ulara’s head, and Ulara began to rise up into the sky. She wanted to be queen of the whole world, and where better to see the whole world than from the sky?

A bow and arrows suddenly appeared in Meir’s hands. Nan unexpectedly turned into a creature that was half man, half horse. The upper part of his body was human but his legs were those of a horse.

The bird of life had fulfilled the wishes of all three people. She took wing and flew off into the sky. Meir and Nan ran after her and also found themselves in the sky.

Thus in the heavens appeared the constellations of the Phoenix, the Queen Ulara, Meir the hunter and Nan the half man, half horse.

The people later called these constellations Cassiopeia, Orion the hunter, and the Centaur, but the bird of life remained as the constellation of the Phoenix.

The Cup

Crater

On a hill there stood a house and in the house lived the wizard Moron. Moron had two magic cups. One of these was made of gold and decorated with diamonds and rubies. This cup could give people as much gold and as many precious stones as they desired. People were always coming to the wizard to ask for gold from the precious cup.

Moron also had another cup. It was plain and made of simple baked clay. If a person asked, it would give them bread and water. No-one ever asked for anything from this cup, although the wizard looked after it just as well as the gold cup and placed it where everyone could see it.

One year there was a drought in the village; the sun scorched the fields and all the fruit and vegetables went without water. The villagers went to the wizard to ask the cup for gold coins and precious stones. With this money the people bought bread and vegetables in other villages and they did not go hungry.

The following summer the drought also fell upon all the neighbouring villages. The people went to Moron once more for money and they received it. But people were hungry everywhere and had no use for money and precious stones.

Then the villagers remembered the wizard’s other cup, the clay one. Moron was pleased to let the people use it. The villagers were very happy as the bread and water meant that they were no longer hungry.

News of the wonderful cup that gave bread and water soon spread to all the villages. Crowds of people began to come and there was enough bread and water for all of them. Autumn passed, followed by winter and spring and the next summer brought a fine harvest of wheat and vegetables. Everyone forgot about the simple clay cup and again went to the wizard just to ask for gold and precious stones.

One day, when all the villagers had come together to ask Moron for money, the clay cup suddenly began to shake and rose up into the sky. There it turned into the shining constellation of the Cup.

The people were ashamed that they had forgotten about the simple cup, which had saved their lives during the famine. Many of them refused the gold coins as they understood that not everything that is valuable in life glitters.

The Great Bear and the Little Bear

Ursa Major and Ursa Minor

The village lay nestled in the hills. It was an ordinary village, full of ordinary people. In the village lived a family who were known for their kindness, especially their daughter Ayna.

Life went on as normal in the village until one day at dawn, a black carriage appeared on the main street. It was pulled by black horses and was driven by a man dressed all in black. For some reason he was extremely happy, smiling broadly and occasionally bursting into laughter.

A black cage stood on the carriage and inside it on a chain sat a little fluffy white bear-cub. He was licking his paws and tears streamed from his eyes.

The people in the village looked out of their windows, went out into the street and scolded the man in black: was he not ashamed to hold the white bear-cub on a chain and torment it so?

Only the kind family offered anything beyond harsh words. They made the carriage stop and Ayna began to beg the driver to release the unhappy bear-cub. The stranger smiled and said that he would only free the animal if someone would give up their eyesight in return.

Everyone fell silent.

Then Ayna stepped forward and said that she was prepared to do so. The man in black roared with laughter and opened the black cage. The fluffy white bear-cub came out of the cage and poor Ayna lost her eyesight.

While the inhabitants of the village examined the bear-cub and said sympathetic words to Ayna, the man in black on the black carriage disappeared.

The bear-cub had stopped crying but Ayna’s tears flowed freely. Then the cub took a rope in its teeth and began to lead Ayna around the village, over the hills and through the fields.

As the days passed the pair became a familiar sight in the village, until one evening the people looked up and saw that the fluffy white bear-cub was leading Ayna up into the sky.

Since that time the little bear-cub has led Ayna across the heavens. They are always visible in the sky so that people are reminded about good and evil.

The Virgin, the Swan and the Hunting Dogs

Virgo, Cygnus and Canes Venatici

On the Moon lived a beautiful Princess who was kind and intelligent. The King of the Sun and the King of the Earth asked the Princess to choose one of them to become her husband. She said that it should be decided by a competition.

The Kings would have to go to the lake the next morning where they would see a swan. The first one to catch the swan would become the Princess’s husband.

The next morning the Kings went to the lake and not far from the shore there was indeed a beautiful white swan. The King of the Sun began to feel sorry for the swan and at first he could not bring himself to shoot it. But when he saw the King of the Earth preparing his bow and arrows he followed suit.

The Kings fired but it was as if the swan was protected by an invisible wall. The arrows either fell short or flew too far, so not one of them hit the swan.

Then the Kings decided to use their hunting dogs to catch the swan.

The dogs broke into a run and chased the swan around the lake, but then the swan flapped its wings and flew up into the sky. Suddenly it divided into two, with one part remaining as a swan and the other turning into the Princess.

Thereafter, the constellations of the Swan and the Virgin appeared in the sky.

However, the dogs were so carried away by the chase that they tore after their quarry right into the sky. Even now the Hunting Dogs run across the sky, not knowing whether to chase the swan or the princess.

The Painter and the Bird of Paradise

Pictor and Apus

In a mountain village there lived the artist Karnan. His little house was high up on the side of the mountain at the edge of a forest.

Karnan would get up before sunrise each day as he liked to watch the sun rise over the mountains, the morning mist disperse and dew-drops appear on the grass like diamonds.

The artist loved to listen as all the animals begin to stir and the birds start to sing in the forest. Most of all, Karnan liked the song of a small but very beautiful bird known as the bird of paradise. She would often fly up to the artist’s house and sing and he would paint wonderful pictures while listening to her. They became friends.

But one day the bird of paradise did not come. Karnan waited for her for several days. He began to worry and set off into the forest to search for his little friend. He soon found the bird of paradise ; she was hopping along the ground and could not fly as she had hurt her wing.

The artist picked up the bird and carried her to the doctor in the village. To save the bird’s life the doctor had to cut off the damaged wing.

The bird of paradise became well again and she hopped along singing her wonderful songs. But she could no longer fly, so she went to live in the artist’s house.

One day Karnan took his paints and paper and began to paint a picture of a wing from a bird of paradise. He painted all day without stopping to rest.

When the work was finished the artist cut out the wing and tied it to the bird. He then took her in his arms and went into the mountains. There he threw the bird up into the air and away she flew. Higher and higher she went and the happy Karnan ran after her.

They found themselves in the sky and so they became the constellations of the Painter and the Bird of Paradise; there the bird still sings her beautiful songs and the artist Karnan paints his wonderful pictures.

The Indian and the Octant

Indus and Octans

There was once an ancient village on an island and it was said to be as old as the Earth itself. Great buildings used to stand there and the people lived in beautiful houses.

Time passed and the people changed; they no longer knew how to read the ancient books, the beautiful houses crumbled and their roofs became full of holes. None of the villagers bothered to repair their houses.

“When it rains it is impossible to repair your house” they said, “and when the sun shines there is no problem anyway”. The people did nothing but sit in their chairs and look at the sea. Over time the villagers came to believe that there was no other dry land on Earth and no other people.

One day, after a heavy storm, a boat was washed up on the shore and there was a man in the boat. He told the people of the island that he came from a great land beyond the sea. Whilst travelling across the waters, the storm had dashed his vessel against the rocks but he had managed to save himself. The people listened but did not believe the stranger’s story – how could there be another land where other people lived?

The stranger had brought an instrument with him known as an octant. He used it to show the islanders how to observe the Sun, Moon and stars, as well as how to calculate the position of the great land beyond the sea.

The people listened to the stranger but did not believe that it was possible to solve such difficult problems with the help of this octant.

The man from the boat claimed that on the great land there were many different machines that were far more advanced than the simple octant. The people just looked at the octant in amazement…

After a time the stranger could no longer bear life on the island where time stood still so he built a boat and sailed away.

One evening the islanders looked up into the sky and saw the stranger with his instrument. From the sky he tried to explain to them that there were so many new things in the world. Life does not stand still and the world changes. But the islanders still did not understand what the stranger wanted from them.

Then the people stopped looking into the sky and forgot completely about the stranger with the octant. They passed into history and no-one heard anything more about the island or its inhabitants.

However, the constellations of the Indian and the Octant remain in the sky and shine for all those people who believe in progress and want to learn more about the world.

The Ram

Aries

On the banks of a little river there was a village, much the same as any other village and life there was good. But one day there was a drought; the sun scorched everything and the river dried up.

The following summer there was another drought and hunger set in. The people began to slaughter their animals to survive. In the village lived a man called Ir. Ir had a large woolly sheep that he was very fond of. The woolly sheep lived in the house with Ir and he watched the peoples’ suffering with knowing eyes.

It seemed to Ir that the white woolly sheep understood him. He always talked to the sheep and shared his happiness and woes with him. After such conversations Ir’s soul became lighter.

But one morning the villagers came to Ir and said that it was time for him to slaughter his sheep. Ir begged them to wait until the following morning and the people agreed.

During the night Ir secretly led the sheep out of his house and far into the hills; he did not want anyone to slaughter his silent but dear friend.

Ir built a little house far from the village and lived there for a while with the sheep.

One night Ir heard a noise; the villagers had found his house. They started to demand that he hand over the sheep. Ir refused. At that moment, the woolly sheep came out of the house. His wool was unusually shiny. The sheep went up to the villagers and they made way for him. Then the sheep began to shake his head and the wool started to fly from him, although he remained as big and woolly as before.

Suddenly the sheep started to rise slowly upwards, higher and higher, until he had risen so high in the sky that he had become a constellation.

When the people came to their senses and looked down at where the wool had lain on the ground, they saw in its place a great number of gold coins. This money was enough to buy plenty of food from neighbouring villages, where there had been no drought.

Ir kept looking into the sky at the twinkling outline of his dear friend. Suddenly, from somewhere above, a little gold bell on a blue ribbon fell into Ir’s hands. His sheep had worn just such a bell around its neck. Ir looked at the bell, smiled and gazed into the sky again.

The twinkling outline was now clearly visible in the sky and had turned once more into a handsome woolly sheep. The sheep was stamping his hooves and happily nodding his head towards Ir.

Since then, Ir has talked with his friend every evening and the constellation of the Ram has shone in the heavens.

The Sextant and the River

Sextans and Eridanus

Not far from a village lived a scientist called Trei. Trei owned many different scientific instruments such as magnifying glasses, telescopes and microscopes. Most of all, Trei liked to use a large instrument known as a sextant to look at the stars, the Sun and the Moon. The scientist was extremely proud of this sextant.

People would come to Trei and ask him when they should plough, sow and harvest their crops.

One year, when it was time to sow the corn, it poured with rain day after day; it seemed as if it would never end. The villagers turned to Trei and he predicted that the rain would soon end and there would be a drought during the summer.

In the summer there was indeed a drought. The sun beat down mercilessly and everything dried out, even the water in the wells dried up.

The people became convinced that Trei and his sextant had brought drought to the village. They believed that because the scientist had predicted the drought, then he must be able to use his instruments to summon the sun and drive the rain from the fields.

A crowd of people went to the scientist’s house and however much Trei tried to tell them that he had not brought on the drought, they would not believe him.

The crowd began to shout and someone suggested that they should destroy the sextant. This was Trei’s most prized possession and he could not allow them to destroy it. Trei drew the sextant close to himself to protect it from the crowd.

Then a miracle happened: a black storm cloud appeared from somewhere, there was a clap of thunder and a huge amount of water began to pour onto the ground. Soon a river had formed, separating Trei and his sextant from the crowd.

Then the sun appeared once more and the fog lifted. When the people looked they could no longer see the river or Trei with his instrument, but in the night sky had appeared the constellations of the Sextant and the River.

Now, from up in the sky, the scientist observes the Sun, Moon and stars with his favourite instrument and the River flows gently across the heavens to protect Trei from any attack.

The Sculptor

Sculptor

In a village there lived a good man called Evon who carved sculptures out of wood and stone. Near the village he built a whole town out of stone sculptures. In the centre of this town he wanted to make a model of the light Spirit-Stone; so Evon set to work.

In the same village lived another craftsman called Toran, but unlike Evon, Toran made dark and evil figures.

When Toran found out that Evon was making a model of the Spirit-Stone, he wanted to do the same, so he also set to work.

The day came when the work was finished. The whole village gathered to look at the Spirit-Stones.

Evon’s model was made of light stone and its eyes seemed to be looking at people while it smiled; it was as if it radiated a soft light.

Toran’s Spirit-Stone was made from dark stone. When the people approached it, the stone began to shake, its eyes blazed with evil and wicked laughter was heard. The villagers stepped back in surprise.

The stone statue that had come alive began to laugh again and then said: “I am the dark Spirit-Stone! Now I shall rule over you and all people shall obey my command. But the light Spirit-Stone stands in my way. I shall destroy it!”

With these words the evil spirit began to approach the good Spirit-Stone. Evon stood in its path to protect his creation. The dark spirit let out an evil laugh, raised a stone hand above Evon and was about to strike him when the light Spirit-Stone came to life: it began to shake and radiate light, becoming almost transparent.

The light Spirit-Stone picked up Evon and carried him high into the sky. Now the dark spirit could not harm Evon or destroy the good Spirit-Stone.

The dark spirit began to shake with anger and shattered into tiny pieces.

In the sky there appeared the constellation of the good Sculptor. This constellation reminds people that good is stronger than evil and will always triumph.

Berenice’s Hair, the Northern Crown, the Southern Crown and the Herdsman

Coma Berenices, Corona Borealis, Corona Austrina and Bootes

In a village stood a castle where there lived a King and Queen. The King spent little time at home but was always out hunting or feasting. The Queen, however, preferred to read books and she knew a great many things. Whenever a dispute arose in the village the people went to the Queen for advice and she always decided things fairly.

One day in the Kingdom, a competition was announced to find the best person at telling stories and reciting poems.

The King was not at home, as usual, but the Queen did go to the competition. She won the prize for the best story-teller, which made her very happy.

The King returned from the hunt and discovered that the Queen had gone to the competition without consulting him. He was very angry as he did not think it proper for a Queen to do such a thing.

The King leapt onto his horse and rushed off to the competition. When he found the Queen, he shouted at her in front of everyone. He then tore the crown from her head in a rage, threw it away and said that she was no longer fit to be a Queen.

The Queen burst into tears because she was so unhappy.

Suddenly the Queen’s crown rose up into the sky and began to sparkle. As the people watched in astonishment, the Queen also rose up high into the sky and began to shine.

In the evening, the King could see the Queen with her crown from the window of his castle. She was sitting and combing her long silky hair.

The King noticed for the first time that she had such beautiful hair. His soul stirred but he still felt angry with the Queen.

Each evening, whichever window the King looked out of, he could see his wife with her crown high up in the sky.

Then one day, the King realised how badly he had treated the Queen and that his life was empty without her. He hurled his crown out of the window and said: “What kind of King have I become? If only the Queen would forgive me, if only I could be with her again, I would be content to be a simple herdsman!”

The crown that he had thrown down also rose up into the heavens and began to shine, but on the opposite side of the sky to that of the Queen. Another constellation appeared, known as the Herdsman.

No-one ever saw the king again.

The Furnace and the Microscope

Fornax and Microscopium

In a village there lived two brothers, Tin and Dokar. Each day Tin would go to the seashore as he liked to look at the waves and watch the clouds rush across the sky. He had an instrument with lenses that could magnify objects – a microscope. He went everywhere with this microscope and would examine grains of sand and different insects. Most of all he liked to study flowers.

Each morning, after the dew had settled, Tin would go into the fields to greet the dawn and spend hours admiring each dewdrop.

Dokar did not have a microscope and he did not go into the fields to greet the dawn. Dokar busied himself with the housework. He swept the floors of the house, wiped away the dust, cleaned the ashes from the fireplace and prepared dinner.

People said that Dokar did all the work in the house and Tin did nothing. Tin was not very popular in the village. Dokar paid no attention to the unkind words of the villagers; he loved his brother and tried to help him as much as he could.

Dokar believed that each person should be allowed to do whatever he wished: if Tin liked to spend the whole day in the fields with the microscope, then so be it. Maybe Tin would make some kind of discovery? But Dokar was not interested in flowers or insects and that was why he did the housework. Each to their own.

One day in the village, a competition was announced to find who could build the best furnace. Dokar won the competition. Everyone congratulated him and said that Tin was so lazy that he had not even taken part in the competition. Dokar was angry at these words, but did not know what to do to change the people’s opinion of his brother.

Suddenly the furnace that Dokar had built began to shake and rose up into the sky, becoming a constellation. Tin’s microscope also rose into the sky and became another constellation.

These two constellations shine in the heavens to remind people that to look through a microscope and make discoveries is no less important than to build a furnace. All kinds of work should be valued.

The Giraffe and the Goat

Camelopardalis and Capricornus

In a village there lived a girl called Ista and she had a horse and a goat.

The horse carried out all the heavy work on the farm; bringing water from the well, dragging stones to build a house and carrying wood from the forest.

More than anything else, the horse was afraid of wolves in the forest and always dreamed: “If only I had horns like a goat or even just one horn, I wouldn’t need to be afraid of wolves as I could butt them”.

The goat grazed in the meadow and she was also afraid that wolves would leap out of the forest and kill her. She also had a dream: “If only I had a really long neck, I could see the wolves coming from far off and run away”.

One day, when the horse was carrying wood out of the forest, a fairy appeared on the path. Everyone knows that a fairy can grant any wish. The horse begged the fairy to give him a horn, so that he could protect himself against the wolves. The wish was granted.

The very same day the goat also met the fairy; she gave the goat a very long neck.

Both the goat and the horse were very happy, but when they returned home Ista became frightened; she gave a cry and ran away.

Filled with grief, the goat and the horse rose up into the sky. There they turned into the constellations of the Goat and the Giraffe.

The constellations shine brightly to remind people that it is better for them to be themselves.

The Water Snake, the Chisel and the Crane

Hydrus, Caelum and Grus

On the Earth there lived a sculptor by the name of Atur who made magnificent statues out of granite. The stone flowers that he carved seemed almost alive. It was as if a simple chisel became a magic wand in Atur’s hands.

One day Atur decided to carve a statue of the goddess of harmony, Balikarna.

When the work was finished it seemed as though nothing could be better than this statue. It was as if Balikarna, and harmony itself, had come to life.

The land that Atur lived in was ruled over by a King. The King had a daughter called Gafra. She was beautiful but wicked, arrogant and selfish.

One day the King and the Princess were travelling around the kingdom and they visited the village where the sculptor lived.

The Princess saw the statue of Balikarna and became very angry. She cried: “How can it be? There is a statue of Balikarna, but not of me, yet I am the most beautiful woman in the whole world!”

Gafra ordered the statue of Balikarna to be destroyed. Her soldiers set about carrying out the order.

However, when the statue of Balikarna was thrown to the ground and smashed to pieces, the Princess turned into a water snake.

Atur took his chisel and ran off and no-one ever saw him again.

In the sky there appeared the constellations of the Water Snake, the Chisel and the Crane.

People said that the sculptor Atur had turned into a crane. Every night he flies over the destroyed statue of Balikarna and croons mournfully about the lost harmony.

The Twins

Gemini

On an island there was a village where the people lived a quiet and peaceful life.

One day a terrible storm arose over the sea, the worst storm that anyone had ever seen. The waves were so huge that they seemed to reach right up to the sky. The storm lasted for three days and three nights.

The storm was at its fiercest on the third night. None of the villagers could sleep that night and they waited in terror to see what would happen next.

Then, when there was a flash of lightning, someone noticed a small boat out on the raging sea. It was lifted up on the crest of a wave and seemed to fall to the very bottom of the sea. The people could do nothing to save it.

The next morning the storm died down and the sky brightened. The people found the boat washed up on the shore. Everyone was surprised to find two small children in the boat – a girl and a boy who were twins.

The islanders thought that a huge wave must have washed them out of the sky. Where else could they have come from? So the people called the twins the ‘children of the sky’.

Time passed and the people still thought of the new arrivals as ‘children of the sky’. The twins showed a great mastery of all the sciences and they were especially knowledgeable about the Sun and the Moon. They could also predict someone’s fate using the stars and their predictions always came true.

The children of the sky were very good and always helped the people in any way they could. The twins taught the islanders about floods, when to harvest their crops and the dates of the festivals.

Rumours about the unusual powers of the children of the sky spread to the ruler of the island. He was just making preparations for war and he wished to know its outcome, so he turned to the twins for help.

The twins studied the stars all night and in the morning they predicted that the war would end badly. The ruler of the island was very angry and ordered the twins to be imprisoned in a tower so guards were sent to find them. When the guards arrived in the village where the children of the sky lived, their house was found to be empty.

The twins had disappeared and no-one ever saw them again.

But one day, someone looked up into the sky and saw the twins there. All the people in the village ran out of their houses and looked up as well. Indeed, in the sky shone the constellation of the good Twins. They smiled and waved to the villagers, who were rather surprised but also very happy.

Now, when the villagers need good advice they turn to the sky; the stars and the twins always help them.

The Serpent Bearer and the Lizard

Ophiuchus and Lacerta

Near a village in the hills there stood two castles.

One castle was made from precious stones and the other from gold.

In the first castle lived a good fairy who was a guardian of stones; in the second lived a wicked fairy who was a guardian of metals.

The good fairy was called Ita and the wicked fairy was called Ruta.

Ita liked to turn into a multi-coloured lizard and watch from afar as the people in the nearby village went about their everyday lives. Sometimes the fairy would take the form of a wanderer and go from house to house. The kind people would invite her to stay the night. In the morning she would disappear and the people would find a handful of precious stones on their doorstep.

The wicked fairy Ruta would also occasionally leave her castle to observe the lives of the people. To do this she would turn into a snake or an evil wanderer, whom no-one would let into their house.

In the village lived a man by the name of Kel. He was greedy and more than anything else in the world, he loved gold and precious stones. He found out that the stone-fairy was very rich and decided to go to her to demand a share of her riches.

In the evening Kel set off for the hills to lie in wait for Ita. In the darkness he took a wrong turning and found himself at the castle of the wicked fairy Ruta. At midnight Ruta came out of her castle, turned into a snake and saw that a man was lying in wait for her.

Ruta was happy that someone needed her. With joy the fairy moved towards Kel and coiled herself around his arms. However hard Kel tried, he could not free himself from the snake. What could he do? Then Kel thought that if he jumped high enough the snake would release him. So he jumped as high as he could and found himself in the sky, but the snake was still wound around his arms.

The good fairy Ita, out of curiosity, turned into a lizard and ran up into the sky to find out what the greedy Kel would do with the wicked snake.

But it turned out that Kel was unable to free himself from the snake and the lizard still watches them to this day. Nothing good came of Kel’s greed, except for the constellations of the Serpent Bearer and the Lizard that shine in the heavens.

The Flying Fish and the Goldfish

Volans and Dorado

On an island there lived two sisters, Una and Sutar. They were Princesses and lived in a palace. The sisters were very different.

Una had golden hair and blue eyes; for days on end she would walk and play with her friends. During her walks she would talk about new clothes and jewellery. More than anything else in the world, Una loved being rich.

Sutar had dark hair and dark eyes. She spent all her time sitting at home with a book in her hands. Sutar had many different scientific instruments, even a telescope since she enjoyed looking at the stars. Sutar believed that the meaning of life lay not in riches, but in spirituality.

The sisters often argued about the meaning of life and many other things.

One day their father brought Una and Sutar a large diamond. Una immediately demanded that he make her a ring or a brooch out of this magnificent stone. Sutar objected to this; she thought that the stone should be used for a new scientific instrument to observe the heavens in more detail.

Примечания

1

Megaliths are stone structures found across the whole European shore of the Atlantic, from Portugal to the Faroe Islands. They consist of menhirs (individual standing stones set vertically), rows of menhirs, stone circles and various stone complexes (Stonehenge and Avebury in England, Carnac in France, Newgrange in Ireland and others). Often, various drawings and symbols are carved into the stones. Megaliths date from the 5th to 2nd millennium B.C. It is believed that megalithic complexes are ancient observatories.

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