Once upon a time

Storytelling is a lost art in our society. We read books, but we rarely tell stories even to our children. Last night I was reminded of just how much fun it can be to listen as someone spins a tale.

This was probably one of the most unusual birthday presents I have ever received – an evening with an experienced storyteller followed by a delicious dinner for 12.

It probably would have been ideal to be outdoors looking up at the stars, but it was cold last night and there weren’t so many stars in evidence, so we were inside, where we simply had to use our imaginations.

Since the beginning of time, man has been intrigued with the night sky, the pattern of stars and planets that is predictable as the seasons change. For every point of light up there, there is a story of how it came to be.

We heard stories of Orion, the Pleides, and so many other mythological figures. They involved themes of love, intrigue, betrayal, but the end result was inevitably being cast into or out of the sky for eternity.

There was even the equivalent of “Eve and the apple.” Only in this case it was a forbidden turnip. It turned out that digging up the sacred turnip revealed a hole in the floor of the sky which showed life on earth and thereby ruined the harmony of the world above. The offending digger was banished to the earth with her child.

As I sat there listening, I couldn’t help but think of the countless audiences through the centuries who had sat around a fire listening to stories as their dinner cooked. It made me wonder who it was who initially made up the stories that would forever explain the night sky.

I think the storyteller could easily have gone on all night, but after an hour or so we were all ready to eat. It was almost like breaking a spell to go from the world of the stars to dinner with good friends.

What a nice way to start my 60th birthday celebration!

(Image from www.sorosy.com)