Story about day and night

Why There is Day and Night

As told by Lynn Moroney

Just then, Rabbit heard a voice, and it said, "There is plenty of light." Rabbit could not see who was talking and so he called out "Who is there, who is speaking to me?" "It is I. It is Owl. And I say there is enough light in the world." Then Rabbit said, "Well I say there is not enough light, and I will call the animals together. We will have a council. And I will ask them. I will ask them if they think there is enough light and they will agree with me and then you will know that there is not enough light in the world. " But then Owl said, "I will invite all the birds of the air. We will join in the council and then you will see that the birds will agree with me and then you will note that there is enough light in the world."

Well, all the animals and all the birds came together and they all sat around in a great circle and waited for Rabbit and Owl to speak. Rabbit stepped forward and said "There is not enough light in the world. We need more light." Then Owl stepped forward and then he said, "There is too much light. We do not need more light."

Well, with that, all the animals and birds began to talk to one another. Bear said that there was way too much light, that he liked to sleep in the dark and, if there were more light, it would interrupt his rest. Some of the birds said that they wanted more light so that they could see to gather twigs for their nests. Racoon said that he agreed with Owl. Racoon did not want light. Frog said that there was enough light, and that he couldn't sing well when there was too much light. Then Buffalo said that, with so little light, he couldn't find enough grass and that he was often hungry. Then all of the animals and birds began to talk at once. Some of them agreed with Owl and some of them agreed with Rabbit.

Finally, Rabbit and Owl decided that they would settle the argument by seeing which of them had the strongest medicine. And whoever had the greatest power, well, that person would have his way. So Owl began to say "Night, night, night, night." And then Rabbit spoke faster, "Light, light, light, light." And then Owl spoke even faster, "Night, night, night, night." Rabbit's friends warned him, "Rabbit, do not say Owl's word, or it will be night all the time." And Owls' friends warned him, "Owl, be careful. Do not say Rabbit's word or there will be light all the time."

Owl was saying "Night, night, night, night, night, night, night...." when he heard his friends say the word "light". And he accidentally said, "Night, night, night, night, light . .. oh, oh," said Owl. But it was too late, he had already said the word "light".

And so it was that Rabbit won. And since that time, the day has had lots of light. But because some of the animals could not hunt or sleep with so much light, Rabbit declared that part of the time would be night after all. And that is why, in these days, we have both day and night.

Variants found throughout North American Indian lore

Tale courtesy of Lynn Moroney.

Background was created by Brad Snowder of the Western Washington University Planetarium . Used with permission. The raven is a head-dress produced by the Haida tribe. It is owned by the Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institutes. Washington D.C. The photographer is Don Eiler.

Day and Night | Fran Stallings

For an illustrated version, see pages 21-22 in The Environmentor, vol. 5, no. 2.

As the seasons change, we can think of ancient times. What did our ancestors think was happening?

Folktale: Day and Night 

Some people say that in the beginning, the world was dark all the time. The stars gave a bit of light, but not enough to see very clearly.

Bear liked having night all the time. Cool dark was good for sleeping. Other animals liked to use their keen senses of smell or hearing, or their very special night vision, to hunt in the dim starlight. (What are some animals that hunt at night?)

But other animals had trouble in the dark. They were afraid of the night-hunting predators. And the plants that they ate couldn't grow in the dark. (What are some animals that would prefer light?)

Rabbit was tired of bumping her nose on trees and rocks in the dark. She went to the Maker of Everything and asked for more light. But Bear came too and said, "No, my friends and I like the dark."

The Maker decided they should have a dancing contest to see whether Earth would be dark or light.

Their friends came to cheer for them. (Divide your group into Rabbit's friends and Bear's friends.)

First Rabbit danced, while her friends chanted "Light, light, light, light!" Then Bear danced, and his friends chanted "Night, night, night, night!" Rabbit danced again, faster, and her friends chanted louder "Light! Light! Light! Light!" Bear danced faster, his friends chanting "Night! Night! Night! Night!"

(Repeat, getting faster and louder.)

Finally the Maker of Everything said, "You both have danced and chanted very well. I love all my creatures, and I want them all to live contentedly. So you will both win: Part of each day will have light, and part will have night."

And so it has been, ever since.

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Facts:

How come we have sunlight during the day, and dark at night? Some ancient peoples thought that after the Sun traveled east to west over our flat Earth each day, it had to sneak back through an underground tunnel to start in the east again. But now that we know the Earth is a sphere constantly rotating in space, we can see that our day happens when our part of the planet faces the Sun, and we experience night when our part rotates to the shadowed side.

Earth continually rotates, completely around: day, night, day, night.

Hey kids, you can be the earth by dimming the room lights and placing a lamp (Sun) in the front of the room. When you face the lamp, you experience "day." If you turn to face away from the lamp, your faces are in "night." You can chant "Light, light, light, light!" or "Night, night, night, night!" as you turn when you read the story.

Or you can use a globe or a ball. There are beach balls printed like the earth. A sticker can mark your location so that everyone can see it travel from light to dark and back again.

Meanwhile, Earth orbits around the Sun.

How come we have longer, warmer days in summer, and shorter, colder days in winter?

It's not because Earth's orbit takes us further away from the Sun in winter. It's because Earth tilts to one side: our axis of rotation seems to point to Polaris, the North Star.

Do you know what the "axis of rotation" is? Tilt the globe toward a corner of the room (Polaris) while rotating it in front of the lamp/Sun. The actual tilt is about 23 degrees. Toothpicks can be stuck into a foam ball or a large piece of fruit to represent the north and south poles.

Notice that if the Sun is between the globe/ball and Polaris, it will be leaning towards the Sun. This gives longer exposure to light, and the rays are more direct: SUMMER! At the North Pole, the Sun never sets in mid-summer.

But when its orbital path takes it between the Sun and Polaris, the globe/ball leans away from the Sun. Days are shorter, and the rays come at a low angle: WINTER!

SOURCES

Folktales: There are many Native American stories about a dance contest to determine whether we get dark all the time, or light part of the time. I learned this one from Lynn Moroney (Chickasaw). Bear is usually the dark champion, But in many stories from further west, Ant Woman dances for light, fasting and tightening her belt. We remember this when we see the tiny waist on an ant.

https://coyotecooks.wordpress.com/2009/12/26/american-indian-storytelli…

Facts: Lynn Moroney worked with NASA's Lunar and Planetary Institute to develop "Skytellers" astronomy teaching resources that paired Native American folktales with scientific explanations. The science text and diagrams are still available:

https://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/skytellers/day_night/

Day and Night - a short bedtime story for children

From day to day, from year to year, from century to century the Day roamed the world. He always went forward, never turning anywhere. I saw a lot: both good and bad, both good and evil - different. But one day he thought about the fact that he had never seen what was far behind him, and far ahead, what they see and with whom and with what he meets day after day - he never saw the Night. Lost my peace Day! How so? He walks everywhere, knows everything and everything in this world! Everything and everything: from the smallest pebble, from a grain of sand on the road to majestic mountains, from a small animal, from a small fish to mighty elephants and whales, from the smallest human, stupid and unintelligent child until a mature and wiser person, and he does not know the Night and never seen! How so? nine0003 The Day tried to go slower so that the Night would catch up with it faster - the hot summer began in the world, but the Night never appeared on the horizon. The Day tried to go faster in order to catch up and consider the Night at least from afar - winter came to the world, but did not see the Day of Night. How could the Day neither catch up with the Night, nor wait - they could not meet!
And then I decided not to see the Day, so at least understand what it is - Night? And he began to ask everyone and everything, whom and what he met on his way: what is this - Night? nine0003
- Tell me, flowers, what is it - Night? Day asked the flowers.
- Night brings with it a thick fog that envelops us when you, Day, leave and gives us moisture and freshness. Without the Night, we would dry up and die, just as without you, Day, because you bring light and warmth with you - without them, we would also be lost!
- Tell me, forests, what is it - Night? Day asked the forests.
- Night brings peace and quiet - birds, animals fall asleep, fall silent, and we - old, wise forests - can think about the eternal, mourn a little about the past, and when you come, Day, everything wakes up and we are glad that life continues and there is so much new, alive in it! nine0003 - Tell me, mountains, what is it - Night? Day asked the mountains.
- Night brings with it the depth and beauty of the vast space. Only at night can we see the beautiful, distant stars, the moon! And we understand that the cosmos is great and huge, and we - the mountains - are negligible in comparison with it. But you, Day, bring light with you, and we see that our world is also great and beautiful, and everything in it is small compared to us - the mountains - and we are great!
- Tell me, animals, birds, fish, what is this - Night? - Day asked animals, birds and fish. nine0003 - Night brings us rest from daytime worries! You can take a nap to gain strength, because when you come - Day - we have no time to rest - we need to take care of what we will eat, where we will sleep, how not to fall into the traps of hunters, how to protect our offspring from predators!
- Tell me, people, what is it - Night? – Day asked people.
- Night takes us to the world of dreams, where the most secret dreams become reality, and, probably, I would like to stay in dreams longer, but you come - Day - and we remember that you can’t live only in dreams! nine0003
Thinking Day!
- How interesting, I have never seen Night and never will see her, but I have a feeling that I know her very well now! And what if I hadn't guessed about the Night to ask those whom I met on my way? I would never know what it is - Night!

Day understood that, not knowing something, but being curious and inquisitive, you can learn and understand what you may not be able to see, but you really want to know what, how and why!
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Short bedtime stories for children. nine0003 Read free online

Day and Night - a short bedtime story for children