Once, there was great darkness.. Wolves and all creatures lived in this darkness, and life was harsh. The hunt was difficult and survival was not guaranteed to anyone. Wolves lived by their noses to track and hunt, to find their territories and families. It was a sad and desperate time for all.
But the Mother Wolf, Dawn, would not have this. She was tired of this life and the constant state of struggle that her pack lived in.
Dawn padded out amongst the tall, dark pillar of trees and found a clearing. She threw her head back to the sky and she cried. Her howl was filled with a desperate plea for help from the heavens. Her pack, and all creatures, needed a break from this heavy burden of darkness they had been living in.
Mother Dawn's howl was so strong, so filled with heart that it broke through the darkness and shattered the sky. Tiny cracks of color rippled through the evening air and created what we now call the Northern Lights. The sky itself lit up with the brilliance of tiny stars... the heavens were looking down upon her, taking pity on she and her family, and all those she cried for.
Dawn's pack heard her plea and joined in, a chorus of mournful howls begging for some freedom from their harsh life. Other animals in the area stood at attention, the air filled with melancholious song, and the sky now filled with slivers of light and hope.
Eventually, light broke over the horizon, a large silver disc climbing into the newly lit brilliance of the night sky. Mother Moon climbed and climbed until she was able to look down upon the world, and those who had sung to her. "What is it that you ask for, dear creatures?" she asked.
"Mother Moon, take pity. We have lived for generations in this darkness. We seek to live a better life. Our ears and noses grow strong, but our sight grows weak. Our hunts stumble because while we can track, we cannot see our prey to catch it. The others of the forest live in constant fear from what they can hear, but cannot see. It is a pitiful existence and we humbly ask for some reprieve."
The Moon thought on this. "Yes, I understand. Why grant these creatures with the gift of sight if they cannot use it? What a waste of a gift. I will help you."
"Thank you, Mother Moon."
"Tonight, I shall rest, but I will make rise the Father and he shall see that you have light to hunt by. Rejoice in this! When he tires, I will check in on you again and see that you are happy with this gift."
Dawn howled again, this time with hope and joy. And so begun the process of day and night. Each morning, Father Sun rises to watch over his creatures and provide them with the gift of warmth and light - and when he tires, Mother Moon takes her shift to check in on the sleeping world, and allow some reprieve from the darkness which once swallowed the world.
The wolves named the breaking morning lights "Dawn" after their Mother Wolf. And I, Lifesong, was named after her song which saved her family and all those of the forest from their lifetime in darkness.
Light Snow
Windy