Why the Sky Went Up

Often, we look up at the sky and wonder how high it is. But long long ago when the world was made, there was a time when the sky hung so low over the earth, that the people could not stand upright. If anyone wanted to go somewhere, they had to crawl. None could do their work properly.

One day, a very poor woman called Tuglibung was facing difficulties in pound the rice. Every day, she had to kneel down on the ground to get a play for the arm. That day, she got very angry. It would have been so easier for her to pound the rice if she could stand straight without getting her head hit by the sky.

So she looked at the sky and said to it,

"Go up higher! Don't you see that I cannot pound my rice well?"

And then she was surprised. It seemed as if the sky was obeying her words. She stood up to see if it was for real. And it was! The sky had gone up about five fathoms.

"Move up still more!" she said again.

But as the woman was doing this, the sun was enjoying a nice sleep. Suddenly, he was hit from below and he exclaimed,

"What is this? Who is this hitting me and disturbing my sleep?"

And then he found out it was the ske.

"You? How dare you disturb me so?" shouted the sun to the sky.

"I could do nothing brother." the sky mumbled apologetically, "an woman has ordered me to move up. She was having problems pounding her rice."

"Now I have to go higher too" groaned the sun. He rushed up very high until it stopped where it stands now.

The sky, too, moved higher until it went up to its present place.