The Rooster and the Sun — rise and shine, it’s time to work!

Once upon a time, the Sun grew very tired and refused to rise. Darkness settled across the world. People, animals and birds gathered to decide what to do. One question circled every tongue: “How can we wake the Sun?”

After much debate they chose to send a messenger. The Sun’s home lay beyond a thick forest, a high mountain, and the farthest sea; only birds could reach it. So began the journey of The Rooster and the Sun.

The Peacock, the Nightingale and the Parrot: beauty, song and mimicry

They first chose the Peacock: “He is beautiful; the Sun won’t refuse him.” The Peacock crossed the forest, climbed the mountain, flew over the sea and perched on the Sun’s window.

— I’m the Peacock. I’ve come to wake you. Please rise; things have grown difficult.

— Whose trouble is that? — the Sun asked, half-asleep.

— Mostly mine. In the dark I look no different from a crow; no one sees my splendid tail.

The Sun grew angry:

— So you need me for your tail? Be gone! I won’t light the world for a single plume.

The Peacock returned empty-handed. Next came the Nightingale. Hearing the Nightingale’s song, the Sun stirred and sighed:

— Your voice moves my heart. Ask for anything.

— Please, light the world. Let the night end.

— Can’t you sing at night? — asked the Sun.

— I can, but if morning doesn’t come soon, my voice will fail.

The Sun felt slighted:

— Must I rise only so your throat won’t ache? Leave me.

Then the Parrot arrived and shouted the moment it reached the window:

— Enough laziness! Wake up! I can’t see how angry people get when I mimic them in the dark!

The Sun said nothing, afraid the Parrot might mimic it too. The Parrot also returned empty.

The Rooster steps forward: “Your duty is to shine”

Just then the Rooster asked to go. No one trusted him—he wasn’t as lovely as the Peacock, nor as sweet-voiced as the Nightingale, nor as loud as the Parrot. But no one else would go, so they agreed.

The Rooster flew to the house beyond the sea. The Sun slept deeply. The Rooster drew a breath and sang his own song. The Sun jolted awake; the blanket slid away and light flooded the world.

— Who is this? What are you doing in my home?

— Cock-a-doodle-doo! Wake up, you lazybones! Don’t you know your duty? — cried the Rooster.

— What duty?

— Your duty is to shine and warm the earth. Without you there is no life; darkness swallows everything. Then even your own life loses meaning.

The Sun’s eyes filled with tears:

— No one values me. The Peacock wants me for his tail, the Nightingale for his songs, and the Parrot babbles like a fool.

People, the soil, and a thousand “little suns”

— Lazy Sun, you’ve forgotten people, — said the Rooster. — They cannot live without you. At dawn your rays strike the dewy grass and the wheat heads and the soil draws breath. Who plants and tends that soil?

— People, of course.

— They dig the wells too. Remember the old saying: “The moon’s face shines in the lakes, the stars glitter; in every well the Sun’s picture appears.” When women gather at the spring, you gleam in their pitchers as well. There is one Sun in the sky, and in a good home a pitcher is a little Sun.

The Sun pondered. The Rooster continued:

— Whoever lives only for himself is as good as dead to others. Only those who work well, rest well. Recall the farmer’s plough that rusted when left unused.

— It’s true, you’re right, — said the Sun.

Awakening: light, warmth and a new day

At last the Sun rose and poured its strength across the earth. Darkness lifted; birds sang; people woke and set to work. From that day on, every morning before sunrise the Rooster first calls to the Sun:

— Cock-a-doodle-doo! Rise and shine — it’s time to work!

Then he turns to the soil:

— Wake, and feed the seeds and roots with your sweetness.

And finally to the people:

— Up you get! The Sun is out; the earth is waiting!

Good night, little listener! May your dreams shine as brightly as the Sun!

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