Messages and Myths

The Bini people of West Africa tell of a time when the sky came down so close everyone could reach and touch it. The sky provided food and nobody worked in those days. When hungry, individuals reached upward to break off a piece of the sky.

The sky demanded that the people should only take what they needed for one meal, no more. No one could store food. Everyone obeyed this rule except for one man who broke off a large piece. Unable to finish it, he tried to store it but the food rotted.

This angered the sky because of the waste. It shot up so far away no one could reach it. Since then people have to work to get food.

Recall the first story with a message or moral told to you during childhood. Why does this message stick with you?

Does your family tell a story based on a family happening that has become a myth everyone tells in a variety of versions?

If you cannot recall a story or family myth, create one.