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Nature's Folly * * * In the beginning, Nature was creating the whole world. She made seas with fish to swim in them, forests with animals to roam about in them, and she made plains for birds to fly over them. Nature was so impressed with her work, that she didn't even notice when, quite by accident, she created a miserable creature named Man. Because Nature didn't notice Man, he neither had a place for him to live, nor was he made to live in any place Nature had made. As Nature smelled the pretty flowers she made and petted her fuzzy animals, Man soon became very hungry. Man had no wings to fly to the branches of the trees to reach the fruit like the birds. Man tried to catch his food, but he didn't have claws like the animals either. Man tried to catch the fish of the sea, but he had no fins, and could only flail about at the water's edge. Man was also very cold. He had no fur like the animals, nor could he hibernate. Man did not have rough pads on his feet, so the hard ground cut his feet. Man's bleeding feet left trails of blood everywhere, and the blood of Man's feet trickled down to Under the Earth. Under the Earth loved the blood of Man, and always craved more of it. Sky looked down on Man that wandered, homeless, on the face of Nature. Sky scolded his sister for her lack of foresight in making Man in such a way, but Nature was too happy smelling the flowers she had made to notice. Sky took pity on man and sent lightening to strike Nature's trees, and Man warmed himself with the fire. Sky saw that man was hungry, so he made his wind to blow grains to Man, and man planted the seeds and grew grain. Sky saw that Man had no meat, so He rained on the valleys near man, and animals came. Man took the animals and had joyous feasts and made shoes and coats to be warm. Man was finally happy enough to behold what Nature had made, and Man's mind worked furiously. Man took the mud of Nature's riverbanks, and made clay pots to store the food he had grown, and made bricks to build houses. When Nature felt the scratching of Man's plows and the weight of Man's houses upon her, at last she noticed Man! "Where did that awful creature come from?" she asked, not remembering it was she who had made them. So she sent Raven to gobble of Man's grain, hoping humanity would starve. What foolishness Nature had! Man simply plowed up more land to compensate for the grain Raven had eaten. Nature sent wolf to stop the spread of Man's grain fields. "If they cannot plow more land, Raven's work will profit, and Man will starve," said she. She was very tired of hearing Man's helpless children cry out in the night, and wanted to be relieved of it. She much preferred her green trees and fuzzy animals to Man. So Nature sent Wolf to keep men out of the forests. This only worked for a time, because Wolf very much liked the things Man made. However, Wolf only liked the things of Man inwardly; he always told himself that Man was a loathsome creature, better dead than alive. Because of Wolf hypocrisy, Man kept spreading. Nature despaired to see Man building their cities and feeding his children with grain. So her most terrible idea ever came upon her. She sent Rat into Man's cities, and Rat spread disease and poison in them. Man's children perished by the millions. Dead humans choked the streets, covered in oozing black sores and green puss. Nature and her favorite son, Wolf, rejoiced to see Man suffering so. The stench of death filled the cities, and Man cried out for release from his suffering. Nature decided to send one more curse upon Man to finish him off, and Under the Earth begged Nature to let him do the deed. Nature agreed. You see, Under the Earth loved the blood of Man that trickled down to him. He loved Man, but only when Man was suffering. So he resolved to let Man live, while suffering all the more. He sent the worst thing ever to come to Man. It was worse than all the floods, famines, earthquakes, and plagues Nature had ever sent to destroy Man. Under the Earth gave Man gold. Man was so overjoyed by gold, that he forgot al the suffering Nature had afflicted upon him. His passion for it was so great, that Man spread like never before. You see, Man spread quickly because his love for Gold was greater than his love for anything else. Man's children fought and killed each other for it. Man poisoned Nature for it. Nature cried out when she realized what Under the Earth had done, but it was too late. Man killed each other in wars upon wars, and Under the Earth drank in Man's blood. Man's children quickly realized that with Gold, Man had become Man's worst enemy. Humanity prayed to be delivered from him greed, while still lusting for more gold. Sky looked down on Nature and saw that the cities men had made upon Nature's surface shone like his own stars in heaven. Sky had been watching Man's suffering the entire time, but knew that many of Man's children were yet innocent. Sky made memorials to Man's greatest children in his own stars. Whenever Nature's plagues, or Man's greed, or Wolf's vanity overtook an innocent, Sky reached down and brought that soul to his bosom. The men that surrendered to Gold become so corrupt, that one could hardly recognize them as men anymore. These souls were left to be with what they had lusted for their entire lives. They descended to Under the Earth when they were overtaken, to be with the fires of Gold's birthplace. Sky did not save these humans that had forsaken humanity. Sky keeps the innocent with him, until the day when all that is vain, and evil, and cruel, will destroy itself. It will be on the day after the Final Day that True Man will finally have a place to live. * * * Told by Jeremiah Seymore, Kinfolk of the Glass Walkers Back | List of Tales | Next
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