Myths from Many Lands

"IT was a long, long while ago, much longer ago than "Once upon a time," but even then there were people living on the earth. They must have thought it a strange place, for so many puzzling things were continually happening around them. There were no men wise enough to explain the mysteries, there were no books, there was not even an alphabet; and they had to imagine explanations as well as they could. One thing that especially interested them was the fact that in the morning a great yellow object slowly ascended the arch of the sky, and then descended on the farther side and went out of sight. No thing could do this of itself, they thought, and therefore they felt sure that some one was moving the object. They supposed that he was of course stronger and larger than they, and they believed that he must be exceedingly graceful and beautiful...."