Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky by Elphinstone Dayrell is an African folktale. The story goes that the sun and the moon were married to one another. The sun wanted the water (the ocean) to come and visit them, but the water said it could only visit if all of his people could come, which would required a very large house. So, the sun went home to his wife, the moon, and told her the he wanted to build a large house so that the water and his people to come visit; she agreed. Once they had built their large house, the sun invited the water and his people to come visit. The water accepted and he and his people began to fill the house until the sun and moon were up to their waist in water. The water asked if it was safe for he and his people to continue to come in, and the sun said it was. The water and his people continued to fill the house until the house was so full that the sun and moon were forced onto the roof; eventually, the house overflowed and the sun and moon were forced to live in the sky; that is where they remain today.
There is a Native American folktale called “The Rabbit and Fire.” In this story, in the early days of earth, animals and humans shared the same language and the same land. The earth was cold everywhere except for the island where the weasels lived; their island had once been struck by lightening and they had fire to keep warm. The rabbit told all the other creatures that the could get light and warmth for everyone using his head, but no one belived him. He covered himself in pine tar and swam across the icy lake the the island where the weasles lived. The tar camoflagued the rabbit so that he was not recognizeable to the weasles; this allowed him to get close enough to the fire to light the wick on his head created by the tar took flame. The rabbit ran towards the icy lake and swam back across to where the rest of the creatures lived, keeping his head above water so as to preserve the flame. The rabbit did as he said and brought light back to earth using his head; everyone was amazed! The gods were so pleased with what the rabbit had done, they placed him in the heavens, on the moon, so he could look down and see how he blessed the earth with fire.
Retrieved from: http://www.rabbitmoon-usa.com/Legends/NativeAmerica
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