Once upon a time, a child looked up at the sky and asked; “Why are there stars?”

She asked the wise man, and the wise man knew not the answer.

And so the child went to the wise woman, and she asked the same question.

But the wise woman knew not the answer.

And so the child searched high and the child searched low; she asked the rich man and the poor man, the old man and the young man, she asked the fisherman and the farmer, the scholar and the drunkard, the king and the servant- but still nobody could tell her the answer. She asked man and she asked beast, she asked the wise owl and the sly snake, the brave lion and the cowardly rabbit, the loyal dog and the proud cat- but not one could tell her the answer.

She asked in the forests and she asked on the shore. She asked by the river and she asked in the desert- but no matter who she asked, no matter where she asked, she could not find the answer.

And so the child decided that she would travel far and wide until she found the answer to her question. She travelled over the sea and through the forest, she crossed the desert and climbed mountains. But nowhere could she find the answer.

Until one day, the child came across a cave.

This cave was high, high, high up in the mountains at the top of the world where the peaks meet the sky, and inside the cave lived a little god.

The child entered the cave and she looked at the little god, and she decided that if the god could not answer her question she would end her search. So the child bowed to the little god, and she curtsied to the little god, and she asked:
“Little god of the cave high, high, high in the mountains at the top of the world, I have a question to ask.”

And the little god said, ask it.

And the child replied, “Little god, little god, I have searched for the answer in every country of the world and asked everyone I have met on my journey, and not one has known the answer. I have asked the wise owl and the sly snake, I have asked the rich man, I have asked the poor man, I have asked king and servant and drunkard and scholar, and no one has known the answer. Little god, please, if you can, tell me: Why are there stars?”

The little god smiled.

Curious child who has travelled far; I can tell you the answer to your question. But you must promise me something: after I have told you the answer, you must draw for me a picture of the World and the things you have seen, for I have grown too old leave this cave, and can no longer see them.

And the child smiled, and said, “Little god, I will draw pictures of everything I have ever seen if only you will answer my question.”

The little god was delighted.

I will answer your question, curious child- but first I must tell you another story. Sit, and listen, and I will tell you the story of the time when the World was new.

The little god took in a deep breath.

Long, long ago, there were two suns high in the sky.

This was  in the Beginning, before man and woman and beast walked the bare earth, before tree or flower grew in the soil, before the rain fell and the rivers flowed. The World was empty and the two suns hung in the sky all the day and all the night long.

This was when the little gods came to be.

At first, the little gods were content to live alone in the World. But one day one of the little gods became lonely.

The lonely little god was called Ananta, and although the god did everything to find comfort, nothing the god did could ease the loneliness. And so Ananta took the bare earth from the ground and moulded it into a tree.

Now, Ananta thought the tree very grand, but also very dull. So Ananta took more earth and this time moulded flowers of every shape and size and colour. This new pastime delighted Ananta, and for a time, the little god was happy creating trees and plants to brighten the World.

But that time passed, and soon, Ananta found that the trees and flowers were not enough. And so Ananta took the earth from the ground and moulded something strange and new, and set it down beneath the First Tree.

For a time, the New Thing did nothing.  For three days and three nights, the New Thing stayed still and silent- but on the fourth day, the New Thing moved.
It was a child, like you, and Ananta named the child Bala.

Ananta was delighted with Bala, and soon, every day was spent in the company of the child, creating new and beautiful things for Bala to play with or look at or taste: new flowers and plants and fruits and vegetables.

But one day, Bala came to Ananta and said; Little God Ananta, I love you very much- but I am lonely.

And so Ananta sculpted another child in much the  same way as the first, and this child Ananta named  Chandra.

The two children were happy, and together they grew older. Ananta was fascinated by the changes the two made as they grew up, and one day, when they were much older than you are now, the two children married, and a little while after that, they had a baby.

Now, if Ananta had thought the children were bewitching, then the little god  thought the baby even more so. The baby was named Little Ananta after the little god, and for a while, these four were happy together- the little god, the man, the woman, and the baby.

But gradually, they began to feel lonely once again. Ananta was about to make another child- but Bala held up a hand, and said; Wait.

Perhaps, said Bala, you could make something different this time. Something bright like the flowers- but that moved like us.

The little god thought for a moment, and then Ananta picked up a handful of earth and began to sculpt.

Here, said the little god, and presented Bala with a tiny, bright creature- the butterfly.

Bala and Chandra were delighted by the brightly coloured creature, and Ananta, pleased by this, created more New Things- things not like the children, and yet not like the plants, and it was in this way that the world came to have animals. Ananta made forests  and populated them with the animals of the trees, Ananta made plains of grass and filled them with the creatures of the grassland, Ananta made seas and rivers and filled them with the creatures of the water, and Ananta made clouds for the sky and created birds to fly.

As time passed, Ananta made more and more creatures, and every so often, Ananta would make another child. In this way, the bare World came to be covered with plants and creatures and Ananta’s children, living happily under the two suns.

But things began to change with the World. For you see, the two suns never stopped shining- never at all. The World began to grow hotter and hotter and drier and drier,  and the trees and plants began to die out. Without the food and shelter provided by the trees and plants, the people and animals began to find it harder and harder to survive- the suns never stopped shining, and without shelter they had to stay out in the baking heat all day and night long. Soon there came the Drought, and the Famine followed behind it. The people and animals began to die like the plants, and Ananta was worried.

Ananta sought high and low for a solution, and asked all of the creatures, but like you, could not find an answer to the problem. All anybody could say was that it was too hot, and Ananta did not know what to do.

Like you, Ananta asked everywhere- travelled to every country across every sea, through every forest and desert until finally, Ananta came here- to the mountains at the top of the world. And there Ananta met Bala and Chandra, the very first children, now old and white-haired, living in a cave high, high, high in the mountains at the top of the world.

Bala, Chandra, the World is too hot. What can I do? Ananta asked.

And Bala and Chandra discussed the problem while Ananta waited anxiously.

Finally, they reached a solution.

Ananta, they said, what you must do is make Night.

But we have night, said Ananta.

No, said Bala and Chandra, we mean a real night. In the day, the suns shall shine, but in the night, let it be dark. In that way, the World will cool in the night time, and warm in the day.

Ananta was delighted to finally have a solution, but the little god had one question.
But won’t the night be too dark? asked Ananta.

Once again, Bala and Chandra discussed the problem, and once again, they found an answer.

Listen, Ananta. This is what you must do...

And Ananta listened carefully.

And then, Ananta smiled.

After that, Ananta left the cave, and began to climb higher and higher up the mountains at the end of the world to the very top, where the peaks meet the sky, and there were the two suns, in all their blazing hot glory. Now, by this point,  Ananta was feeling very hot indeed, but the little god laboured on to carry out Bala and Chandra’s instructions. Ananta looked up at the bright suns, and down at the mountain, and there Ananta saw what Bala and Chandra had said would create the night- a rock, smooth and round.

Ananta lifted the rock and threw it with every ounce of strength that the little god had towards the larger of the two suns, just as Bala and Chandra had instructed.

On and on the rock flew, up and up into the sky, further and further from the World- until finally, the rock hit the sun, shattering it across the sky.

Now listen! shouted Ananta to the shattered sun. You must only appear in the night time!

And then Ananta turned to the whole sun, and said, And you must only appear during the day.

In this way, said Ananta, the World will have a true night and a true day, and the world will no longer be too hot, and my plants and my creatures and my children will not suffer any longer.

And so it was that one sun lit the sky during the day, and the other during the night- for the stars you see when the daytime sun goes down are the shattered fragments of the night sun, and the moon is the largest of them all.

There, said the little god. Now are you content?

The child looked thoughtful for a moment.

“Yes,” she said. “And I’ll draw you your pictures. But... afterwards, can I ask you another question?”

If you like, said the little god.

And so the child knelt on the floor before the little god and began to draw in the dirt. She drew flowers and trees and the people she’d met on her journey, she drew birds and beasts and fish of every kind. In long, sweeping strokes, she sketched out dragonflies and butterflies, daisies and lilies, tigers and mice, eagles and wrens, dolphins and starfish. She drew the sun in the sky and the moon nestled amongst the stars that had started her quest, and finally, she drew the little god, sat on a rock in the cave.

Thank you, said the little god. It seems everything out there is as beautiful as I remember it.

“Little god?” said the child, softly. “What is your name?”

The little god looked at her, eyes wide in surprise.

And then the little god laughed.

Clever child, said the little god. I’m sure you already know my name.

The child smiled. “Thank you for answering my question,” she said, “Ananta.”

And then she bowed to the little god and left the cave, the shattered fragments of the second sun twinkling down on her from a deep blue sky.