A long, long time ago, the First World was newly born, and the Spirits newly
awakened. Mother Moon hung silvery and luminous under Mother Night's shroud,
while Spirit Sun rose over the horizon each day shining glorious and golden,
and all of them were filled with the bright spirit of their Creator.

One day, Mother Lake and Brother Bear gambolled among the green slopes and lush
forests of the First World. Lake was a sparkling spirit, as slender and blue and
languid as any water nymph, and filled with both the gurgling laughter of the
rivers and the rippling whispers of a calm lake. Bear was a great being covered
in shaggy brown fur, with a sleepy, simple demeanor. Yet in their differences,
they found a sort of companionship.

Feeling suddenly playful, Lake made herself into a small, fast-flowing river,
and she set off through the wooded hills in a trickle of motion, daring Brother
Bear to catch her. Bear soon followed after her, lumbering along in his own
ponderous way. The golden light of Sun slanted through the fields and hazy
hills, casting golden motes onto the water and limning Bear's shaggy coat in
resplendent glow.

They came to a great cliff, which was brown and bare and covered in tall crags
and twisting spires of rock. Lake thought it quite plain and dreary, and she
exclaimed, "What a terrible place this is! Would it not be more beautiful as a
deep green valley?" She turned to Bear. But he was napping upon a smooth
boulder in the warmth of the sunlight. Lake nudged Bear awake, and he turned
onto his side with a loud, rumbling snore. Finally he stirred and sat up on his
haunches, yawning drowsily and shaking the droplets of water from his fur. "What
is it, Lake?"

"This cliff is ugly and hard. I would like to see it made beautiful, into a
green valley where we could play. Brother Bear, will you help?"

Bear grumbled that we was tired, that he had not eaten, that he needed to tend
to some honeycombs. But Lake teased and coaxed him until he agreed at last to
her project. "But I will do the brunt of the work," he said, "for you are
watery and insubstantial, and too weak to carve a valley on your own."

She retaliated with indignant fury, sending a spray of plumy white water over
Brother Bear. "Why, I am strong enough to do the work! I may not have great
claws or the advantage in size, but I can carve this cliff even faster than
you."

Bear grunted, "We will see who finishes first." So they set off to their own
separate sides of the cliff to begin their work.

Brother Bear said to himself knowingly, "Poor Lake. My claws will rip the stone
in two, and I will be done long before she makes a single groove." Indeed, his
claws were large and sharp, and as he dug into the ground, chunks of earth and
rock scattered everywhere. He worked for many hours, never tiring. Mother Lake
was determined to prove herself better than Brother Bear, and she flowed
through the cliff as a wide, rapid river. The force of her current was so great
that the beautiful, clear blue of her waters was tinted a muddy brown colour.

The sunlight beamed down on both of them, and Brother Bear began to sweat. His
brown fur dripped with perspiration. By now he had gouged a considerably large
hole out of the cliffside, and as Mother Lake watched him work, she began to
despair. "Oh, how will I ever finish?" she thought. "Bear has managed so much
in these several hours, and it is true, I have not even made a single groove."
She continued to toil, pounding and pounding at the hard earth and driving up
great white spumes of water.

But truth be told, Brother Bear was also growing tired of the whole ordeal. He
longed to return to the green meadow and slumber alongside his creator, Tae,
who shared so many of his aspects. "How long will it be until the valley bears
and I drive away the stinging bees and eat the golden honey from their hives
again?" he wondered wistfully. He carved into the cliff listlessly, his claws
dulled from much work, and the pads of his paws coated in dust and scratches.
His belly rumbled and he felt a yawn coming on.

Lake did not observe how tired Bear had become, but she was growing a little
more hopeful. She could feel the smooth depression in the cliff where she had
carved out a basin, and images of green trees springing up in that basin filled
her vision. She sparkled with joy and renewed fervour, and vowed to create the
image in her mind's eye before the day's end. Water lapped playfully and
frothed at the sides of the basin.

Brother Bear's pace grew slower and slower, until he rolled over with a groan
and fell asleep, among the protrusions of rock and smooth boulders. Spirit Sun
drew lower and lower in the sky, the journey that he made each day nearing its
end. Soon he slumbered below the horizon, and the argent orb of Mother Moon
took her place on the stage against the backdrop of Night, pierced with
glimmering white stars.

When Brother Bear arose the next morning, Spirit Sun peeked over the world's
edge, announcing a bright and shining new dawn. Isune and Trillillial had
painted the sunrise in glorious shades of pink and orange flushed with peach.
Lake trilled and burbled happily, "Brother Bear, look how beautiful the valley
is, nearly as beautiful as the sunrise!" And it was true. During the night,
Mother Lake had shaped the cliff into a breathtaking canyon, striated in bands
of colour from an earthy red to a deep brown. She was far below at the bottom
of the canyon, and her words echoed back at him.

Brother Bear rumbled softly, "Lake, I am sorry that I ever called you weak. You
may be only water, it's true, but you are far stronger than most of us. In one
day and night you've created a splendid canyon, and I only managed to scrape a
shabby hole. You are tireless and steady, and I hope you will accept my humble
apology."

Mother Lake shimmered with gratitude and happiness. "I know you never meant to
offend me. Brother Bear, I am sorry for all the hard work you have done, in the
name of a silly dare. You deserve a long nap and a green meadow to rest in."

"I'll race you back to the meadow then. There's sweet honey and that nap
waiting all for me!" He disappeared into the sunrise, and Lake's gurgling
laughter chased him all the way.

So a river may wear away at solid stone, and claws that are sharp become dull.
But the bonds of friendship last, beyond all hardship, and beyond the ability
of simple tales to express.