Legend: The ten Chinese suns

The ten Chinese Suns (based on an ancient Chinese legend)

1.Chinese legend tells of ten suns that rise into the sky one at a time.This makes the week ten days long.

2. The Celestial Emperor Di-jun, the goddess Xihe, and their ten children live at Tanggu,
a secret place by the oriental sea.

3. In this land grows a grand tree, Fusang It is a huge tree, and the ten Suns rest on its enormous branches.

4. The Suns swim and play in a lake that is always boiling because of the heat.

5. Each morning, one of these children takes a turn lighting the world with Queen Xihe
in her chariot drawn by six dragons. Together they cross the sky from East to West.

6. However, the ten Suns become unhappy. They find this arrangement unbearable, like being in prison.

7. Therefore, they all rise into the sky together, and they create a horrendous heat.

8. AII the rivers dry up, the tres catch fire, the animals perish and the people hide in the caves.

9. The celestial Emperor becomes very angry. He calls Yi, the celestial archer.

10. The Emperor tells Yi, “The ten Suns are going up into the sky together. They are causing ruin and death everywhere. Here is a red bow and a quiver of ten white arrows. Punish these rascals immediately!"

11. Yi goes down to earth with his bow and arrows. The destruction is horrible. He takes his bow and strings it. The arrow flies like a comet.

12. It strikes the first Sun who falls from the sky in flames. Then the other nine Suns attack Yi and they start to spit fire.

13. The archer strikes the first, the second, the third, the fourth... the rest flee, but Yi follows them without mercy. The Suns fall one after the other.

14. Yi sees the last Sun in the sky and he raises his bow for the second time. Suddenly, the emperor speaks to Yi.

15.”Stop!” he commands. “The humans can neither live nor prosper without Sun.” Yi obeys without a word.

16. The last Sun flees to Tanggu and hides in the tree Fusang for many days.

17. During this time, the rains come and fill the rivers again.

18. Since that day, the surviving Sun wisely travels in the chariot of his mother. He never causes trouble either in the sky or on earth.

19. When Yi prepares to leave, the humans beg him to stay with them to solve other problems.

20. The celestial archer submits graciously - to their demands - without a word.