THE DARKENING OF THE DAY
One day there was great excitement among all the animals and birds of
the great forest.
A panic had seized them all, for the bright sunny day seemed to be
gradually turning into twilight, the forerunner of the night. They said,
“Why is this sudden ending of light?” They all wondered why; for it was
not time for the night to come; there had been no sunset. The day was
not half over.
All were frightened at the phenomenon; they could not understand this
sudden change. The air was filled with the shrill, plaintive, and
frightened cries of birds; for they had a dread of some unknown danger
coming; they flew hither and thither, as if not knowing where to go,
hardly daring to alight.
The day animals walked to and fro with fear in their eyes; for they
could not understand why the night was coming so soon. They had had no
time to get a full meal. This sudden ending of the day they had never
seen in their lives. Their shrieks, howls, yells, and roars were heard
everywhere; the trumpetings of the njokoos were the most piercing of
all.
The night prowlers woke, and wondered why the night came so soon; they
were not half rested, and those among them who had been lucky enough to
get a meal, had not yet digested it, and were not hungry.
Darker and darker it became. This darkness was caused by an eclipse of
the sun, the moon passing between the great orb and this part of the
earth, the great forest.
At last the birds were compelled to alight; for it was getting too dark,
and they could hardly see, but their twitterings told of their fright.
The men of the woods, the monkeys, and other day creatures made
themselves ready for the night; but none fell asleep, for they dreaded
some great catastrophe.
As the eclipse continued, the sombre forest became quite dark, birds and
animals became silent; many fell asleep.
Before long, however, to their utter astonishment, the twilight-like
dawn, the forerunner of the day, made its appearance. Brighter and
brighter it became, and the sun at last shone as if it were midday. The
forest became at once full of life, and all birds and animals wondered
at the short night, and said: “What has happened? We never knew such a
thing!”