THE LEGEND OF THE MILKY WAY

bye:Angelina Battle

The legend of The Milky Way

This is what old people told me when I was a child. Long ago, when the world was new, there were not many stars in the sky. In those days people depended on corn for their food. They would grind it and keep it in bins behind their homes. Bread made from cornmeal, often kept them from starving during the long winter months.

The legend of The Milky Way

One morning, an old man and an old woman went to their bin for some cornmeal. What they found upset them very much. The lid was off the bin, the level inside dropped by a hand span, and there was cornmeal all over the ground. Surely, no one would steal from elders! Who could the thief be?

The legend of The Milky Way

Late that night, while the two elders were hiding to find out who the crook was, they saw a giant dog! This was no ordinary dog though, it was a spirit dog. They were so frightened that they ran away.

The legend of The Milky Way

The next night, the sprit dog came back. But this time the elders were prepared. They made a loud noise that made the sound:

BOOM!

The legend of The Milky Way

The noise was so loud this time the dog ran away with the elders on its tail. They told their grandson everything that happened. There was a pattern of stars in the sky that the Cherokee call Gil’liutsum stanun’yi, the place where the dog ran. That is how the Milky Way came to be.