Why the Sky Went Up

In the old days, the sky and sun lay close over the earth. The Mona families lived beneath them.

The space between ground and sky was so small that ordinary work was difficult. People bent low as they went about the day.

When Tuglibung pounded rice, she could not swing the pestle while standing. The low sky was in the way.

She knelt beside the wooden mortar to make room for her arms. The work remained awkward and slow.

The pestle needed space to rise and fall, but the sky would not leave enough. Tuglibung paused beside the mortar.

She looked above her and decided to ask for the room her work required.