53. The Rooster and the Sun

Long ago, Rooster stole God’s Sun.
“Give my Sun back!” God shouted, but Rooster refused.
Then God proclaimed, “I’ll reward whoever brings back my Sun.”
“Everyone wants to steal your Sun,” Lizard warned Rooster. “You best build a wall around it for protection.”
When Rooster built the wall, Lizard climbed over and returned the Sun to God.
“I want fur as my reward,” Lizard announced.
“I used up all the fur,” God said, apologetically. “Your reward will be to dwell in human houses.”
Meanwhile, Rooster crows every morning when he sees the Sun; he’s telling God to give it back!

[a Calabar story from southern Nigeria] 



Inspired by: "The Sun, the Cock, and God" in Calabar Stories (published in Journal of the Royal African Society) by J. Maxwell, 1906.
Notes: You can read the original story online. The story also mentions a failed attempt by Squirrel to get the sun but without providing any details.




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