By: Sandy Wang

A long, long time ago, before humans existed, the earth was very different. The sun never slept, so it was always light, and there were only animals. The animals lived in harmony for a long time, but soon they began to fight amongst themselves. The fighting became worse and worse, until one day, Bear was so angry at Salmon, he reached down, grabbed him, and ate him. The Great Spirit, who had been unhappy with the animals fighting, was very upset at this. He punished the animals by putting a giant blanket over the earth, and everything became dark.

Once the animals realized the blanket wasn’t going to be taken down, they held a meeting. They decided that someone needed to go and tear the blanket down from the earth. Bear, who felt guilty about eating Salmon, volunteered to go first. He headed off and traveled over a long, long distance to the tallest mountain. He climbed up as high as he could go and tried to tear the blanket down with his sharp claws, but he couldn’t do it. He reached and he clawed and he clawed, but he just couldn’t get that blanket down. He tried until he couldn’t try anymore, and then, tired and sad, climbed back down the mountain, over the long distance, back to the other animals.

“I’m sorry,” Bear said when he got back. “I tried and I tried, but I just couldn’t get that blanket down.”

“Let me try!” came a little voice. It was the tiny Hummingbird. Everyone laughed at this.

“If Bear cannot do it, what makes you think you can, Hummingbird?” said Mountain Lion.

“No, I will go and try. I can jump higher than Bear can, so I can jump and get it with my claws.” And with that, Mountain Lion set off, taking the same route that Bear had to the highest mountain. She jumped and tried to tear the blanket down with her claws, but she couldn’t do it either. She jumped and she clawed and she clawed, but she just couldn’t get that blanket down. She tried until she couldn’t try anymore, and then, tired and sad, climbed back down the mountain, over the long distance, back to the other animals.

“I’m sorry,” Mountain Lion apologized when she got back. “I tried and I tried, but I just couldn’t get that blanket down either.” By now, it had been dark for days, and the animals were starting to get worried.

“Let me go, let me try!” came the little voice of the Hummingbird again. And again, everyone laughed.

“If Bear could not do it, and Mountain Lion could not do it, how would a tiny little Hummingbird do it?” asked Coyote. “No, I will go. I will bite at it and get that blanket down.”

Now, the same thing kept happening. Different animals would go try, each one thinking they could tear the blanket down, and no one could. Each time, little Hummingbird would ask to go, and each time everyone would laugh. Finally, after it had been dark for months, there was no one left to send.

“Please let me try!” insisted little Hummingbird. The animals shrugged their shoulders. There was no one else left to try, and they were going to be stuck in darkness forever. What harm would it do?

Hummingbird headed off, flying over a great distance, flying to the tallest mountain. She flew up the mountain, then she kept flying and flew right at the blanket, her beak poking a tiny little hole in it! A tiny ray of light shone through the hole, the first light the animals had seen in months. As they cheered, she flew up again and poked another little hole, and then another little hole, and another, until tiny rays of light shone down all over. When she was too tired to keep going, she flew back to the other animals.

When she arrived there, the animals hoisted her up on their shoulders, cheering Hummingbird and apologizing for not listening or letting her try. The Great Spirit, seeing that again the animals were living in harmony, decided to lift the blanket off the earth. However, to remind them to be respectful of each other, each night he puts the blanket back over the earth. But he leaves the holes that Hummingbird made, letting a little light shine through, so that everyone remembers that no matter how small or insignificant someone might seem, everyone is useful in their own way.