Grandmother Spider Brings the Sun / Page 10

Now, Possum had never seen the sun, so when he popped out on the other side, the light hit his eyes, and he was blinded. His eyes got all squinty and he rubbed them with his dirty fists, saying, “Hey! I can’t see!” Well, you know, Possum’s eyes have been squinty and ringed with dirt ever since.

Possum struggled over to the sun, took a little piece, and put it inside his big ol’ bushy tail. Then he turned around and came running back down the tunnel.

Possum ran faster and faster and faster and faster. Something started to

get hot inside his tail, but Possum kept running, faster and faster.

That something got hotter, and Possum kept running faster, and he soon ran into the room where all the animals were waiting. They all saw smoke coming out of his tail, and they screamed, “Possum! Your tail! Your tail!” and threw water on him. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! The light was gone.

When the smoke had cleared, Wolf looked up and said, “Oh, no,

Possum! Look at your tail! It’s all skinny!”

And you know, Possum’s tail has been this way ever since.

Wolf said, “We still don’t have any sun. What are we going to do now?”

A loud voice from the back of the room said, “Send me! I’ll go!”

Down to the front stormed a large bird with long black feathers all over his body, and a crown of feathers on top of his head. He held his head high and stuck his chest out as he marched importantly past the other animals. You see, this bird was a show-off. He thought he was the most beautiful bird alive.

He stood up in front of all the animal people and he said, “It’s me, Big Bad Buzzard. I’ll go to the other side of the world and it won’t take me long at all, but I wouldn’t be so dumb as to hide the light in my tail. I’m gonna hide it in my beautiful crown of feathers.”

Buzzard jumped into the tunnel and soared through the darkness, and it didn’t take long at all until he came out on the other side.

Buzzard took a little piece of sun, put it inside his crown of feathers, turned around, and soared back down the tunnel faster and faster and faster and faster. As he came down the tunnel, something started to get hot on top of his head. Buzzard soared faster and faster, and something got hotter and hotter.

Faster he soared, and soon he came into the room where all the animals were waiting. They looked up, and they saw smoke coming from Buzzard’s head. “Oh, no! Buzzard! Your head! Your head!” They got water and Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! The light went out.

Wolf looked up and said, “Buzzard! You’re bald!” All of Buzzard’s feathers crackled and fell down to the ground. Big Bad Buzzard got so shy and quiet that he ran and hid in the back of the room. And you know, Buzzard has been bald ever since, and he still doesn’t like anybody looking at him.