EARTH AND SKY

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 21, 16 April 1927, Page 22 (Supplement)

EARTH AND SKY

THE GROWTH OF BEAUTY IN the long: ago, the earth lay bare and brown under the cold grey sky. There were no bright colours anywhere. But, after a time, the sky grew tired of dull colours. She put the sun to drawing water from the lakes and rivers of the earth, and with this water she washed herself clean. Then the water was returned to the earth as rain. The dull grey of the sky had all disappeared, and in its place there was a soft blue colour, with white clouds floating here and there. The earth noticed the change in the sky, and reached up for a bit of fleecy white cloud. From the cloud wisps she was able to catch she made little snowdrops with which to decorate her crown. Pleased with what she had done, the earth mixed the yellow sunshine with the blue of the sky, and made a bright green mantle, with which she covered her plains and mountains. The earth was now much more beautiful, but the sky was not to be outdone. Once more the sky washed her floor until the blue was fresh and clean, then she added a flaming sunset of orange and red. The earth marvelled at the beauty of the sunset, but lost no time in adding the sunset colours to her own beauty. Of the sunset orange she made a carpet of dandelions. With the sunset red she mixed the blue of the sky, and lo! there were the violets peeping from the cool places of the woodland. Nor did she stop there in her race for beauty. Of the sunset red she made the wild poppies, and set them nodding in the fields. From the gold of the sunlight she made the buttercups; from the morning sky she made the forget-me-nots: from the indigo blue of the twilight hour she fashioned the blue larkspur. The sky was not happy when she saw so much beautv upon the earth, so she took the colour of the violet, the indigo of the larkspur, the the forget-me-not, the green of the hills and plains, the yellow of the buttercup, the orange of the dandelion, and the red of the poppy. Of all these colours she made a. wonderful rainbow. “Now we are equallv beautiful,” said the sky, and the earth agreed. This was long, long ago, and they meet now at the horizon in perfect friendship.