Rainbow

- An Indian folk story

Once upon a time, many years ago, the sky looked down upon the young Earth, and he found her so beautiful in her flowered robe that he fell in love with her, and when he found that the Earth returned his love his joy was unbounded.

The Sky and the Earth agreed to marry and the day of the wedding was fixed without further delay.

The hour of midnight was decleared to be the auspicious time for the wedding, and preparations were made for the great occasion. The pipers and drummers and the sellers of gold and silver and precious stones came from far and near. The Earth put on her most beautiful robe, all green and flowered. She wove for her bridegroom and garland of the most beautiful folwers of many colours to throw about his neck, and she waited breathlessly for his arrival, arrayed in silken robes.

But, the people of the Earth looked on these preparations with dismay, for they were afraid that if the Earth were to live with the sky as his wife, there would be no dwelling place left for them. And they prayed to the gods to stop the wedding from taking place.

Now when the gods heard the plea of the mortals, they took pity on them. They began to seek for a means of stopping the marriage. At last, Vishnu thought of a plan. When the gods heard what it was, they were pleased.

The night came when the Sky and Earth were to be married. The Sky bridegroom put on his shining jewelled crown and silken blue robe and came riding down to the Earth where she stood blushing and beautiful to receive him. Meanwhile the pipers and drummers began to play and the priests chanted their prayers. As the hour of midnight approached excitement filled the air, for then the Earth would throw the garland of flowers round her bridegroom’s neck, and they would be married.

But Vishnu and the gods were waiting to carry out their plot. Vishnu had disguised himself as a cockerel, so that no one knew his presence as he strutted over the roof in the light of the moon. The auspicious hour began to strike and at that instant Vishnu, the cockerel, crowed loudly from the house-top : ‘Cock-a-doodle-doo!’

There was a wild scramble among the guests. ‘It is dawn,’ they cried. ‘Come, let us go back to our work, for the night is over and day is here.’ The pipers ceased to pipe and the drummers to drum, and they too left the place.

And the priests stopped their chanting and put away their holy books saying, ‘The auspicious hour of midnight has passed and now, you cannot be married.’ And the gods tore the Sky from the Earth and took him back to his home in the heavens, leaving the Earth standing alone with the garland in her lands and tears in her eyes.

‘Come back, my lord,’ She cried. But the sky could not come, for the ausipicious hour had passed. Then the Earth in her grief flung the many coloured garland at the Sky and it fell about his neck.

But the hour had passed, and never could the lovers marry.

Sometimes you can see the garland that the Earth made for the Sky, as he wears it about his neck. We call it the Rainbow. Everytime he wears it, his tears flow as he remembers the lovely Earth and his interrupted wedding.

Isn't it a lovely story ?