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Why Clouds Are in the Sky (Sky Food)

As Retold by Dr. Mike Lockett, The Normal Storyteller

Long ago the creator made the world and everything in it.  He made the earth and sky very close to each other and placed food in the sky for everyone to eat.  The people liked it that way.  They didn't have to work to get food.  They only had to reach into the sky and grab a piece of sky food to eat.

Take your finger and make a big circle in the air.   Now draw another circle inside it.  That could be a donut.  Punch out the middle and pretend to eat it.  "Yum!  A Donut hole!"

Take some white pieces of cloud and chop them into tiny little pieces.  You can steam them or boil them or fry them.  "Ooh!  Rice!"�

Make a small circle in the air.  Cut it in half.  Poke holes in it with your finger.  Look how the holes fill up with different colors to make seeds.  Now, take the half circle and bite into it.  "Yum!  Watermelon."�  Don't forget to spit out the seeds.  "Ptttttttooooeeee!"�

But, back then, people didn't need to pretend.  They could make a donut and the donut hole out of sky food .  They could eat it and be full.  People didn't have to work.  But when they got up in the morning and weren't working, they could eat sky food for breakfast.

Make a circle and grab a little yellow sunshine to put into the middle of it.  "Delicious!  Eggs!"  Reach up and grab that cloud with those orange rays of sunshine coming through them.  Squeeze them into your glass.  "Ahhh!  Orange Juice!"�  You only had to use your imagination to feast on the sky food.

But, because the food was free, people often wasted it.  They took more than they needed and threw the rest on the ground.  Huge pieces of sky food were wasted.  The beautiful world the Creator had made was filling up with garbage.

This made the creator angry.  He sent rolling thunder across the sky to get everyone's attention and said, "Stop taking more than what you need to eat to satisfy your hunger.  If you continue to waste the food I gave you, I will move the sky and the clouds high in the sky, far from your reach."�

For a while people listened.  They took only what they could eat.  But soon they began to waste food again.  They would take a piece of sky, take a few nibbles, and if no one was looking, they'd throw the rest out.  People may not have seen this, but the Creator did!  Again, he sent thunder rolling across the sky.  "This is my final warning!  You may eat from the sky.  But eat what you take.  Waste no more!  If you throw sky food on the ground, I will move the sky and the clouds high into the sky so you may never eat from them again.  You will have to work to get your food."

Everyone listened again.  For a long time, everyone only took what they needed.  If they took too much by accident, they were careful to share it.  They did not waste the sky food.

Then one day a careless person took more food than they could eat.  No one knows who it was.  But they threw sky food on the ground.

The Creator saw this waste and sent the rolling thunder across the sky.  "I told you what would happen if you wasted the sky food I gave you.  You will no longer be able to eat free food from the sky.  You will have to work for your food."  The sky and clouds began to raise high above the earth.  They could no longer be reached by the hungry people below.

People had to begin to work for a living.  Some people became gatherers. They picked nuts, wild berries, roots and fruits that grew wild in nature.  Others planted seeds and began to grow crops.  They grew wheat to make bread.  They grew vegetables of all kinds.  Some people hunted and brought home wild animals like deer, birds and rabbits to eat.  Some people began to raise cattle, sheep, and chickens.  Still others caught fish, shrimp, and shellfish to eat.

Other people decided to become builders, artists, musicians, singers and dancers.  They work and get their food from others.  Still others became storytellers who remind us about stories like why clouds are in the sky.

Hint to tellers:  A device called a thunder tube is excellent to use for the thunder in this story.