The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-11-16
The Sparks of
The Sun


$50 be it. But I fear that thou wilt
destroy the earth and sky and all that is
in them
Nay cried the young man; am 1 not
my fathers SOM
As Soma looked upon the glowing. earn
est face of his boy he was somewhat en-
~couraged; but when he emembered the
strength and spirit of his steeds he trem-
bled for what might occur. However. his
word had been given; and so. when the
morning had almost come, he went out to
the stables and looked we'll at every girth
and at the wheels of the chariot: Then he
went to Sterna's room and, waking him,
said:
My son, the morning Is almost come.
Arise and break thy fast, for a day Of dan
ger for thee and the whole earth lies be-
fore US. Come and walk with me after thou
hast eaten, for 1 have much to tell thee
about handling the horses
$50 Sterna arose and dressed himself and
breakfasted. Then he sought his father
and they talked long and earnestly. But
1t was soon time to harness the rearing
steeds, and when that was finished Soma
placed his hands on his boys head and
commanded him to be faithful and attent-
I've. Then the youth stepped into the char
lot and ordered the gates to be opened.
A the word the rosy maidens Of the
dawn swung wide the portals and the swift
coursers were off with a bound. Anxiously
Soma watched the start, but II seemed that
his fears had been in vain. For Sterna
drove as boldly, as skillfully and as faith
fully as ever his father had done. He
handled the reins coolly and with all the
assurance of youth, and all appeared to be
we'll. But as the horses mounted higher
and higher in their course Soma observed
that they pranced and leapt more wildly.
For a little while, even then, the youth
held them in their course. But soon, even
to the least trained of all the watching
eyes, the chariot was seen to sway back
and forth, and to waver in its course. And
then suddenly. with one mighty leap, the
powerful steeds pulled the reins away from
their driver and left the beaten course free,
uncontrolled. with no hand to guide or
check them.
Soma, when he saw what had happened,
cried aloud in his grief and stretched forth
his arms. But when he m that
at that distance he could do nothing he
turned mis- face to the wall and wept. What
AOAAO"Co tAC hAilAAh away VI LhC AOAoCo
amazed all the lesser gods, and even the
great gods themselves who had seen many
strange things. For, as the unmanageable
team left the track they turned in the d.
rection Of the dragon. Tie monster had
been inactive for centuries, frozen by the
cold air of space. But the heat of the ap-
preaching sun warmed him TO life; and
away he started after the Fishes and the
Tug-- IT. zS--1l
He whistled to his dogs, who ran off, yelp-
ing, on the track of Taurus, the bull. Then
the crazy horses turned in their course
and whirled away toward the north amid
a great cloud of sparks. The Great Bear
fed in alright, forgetting the Little Bear.
who galloped, whimpering. after its mother.
o such a wild tumble of star an
imals had never been seen or heard
of. The fierce monsters tried to
eat all the other animals. The timid ones
raced across the sky to get out of their
way and all rushed madly away from the
path Of the oncoming sur. But that was
not all the danger. As the chariot rocked
TO and fro. bounding and humping. great
blocks of fiery coal were knocked off the
glowing face of the sun, and a countless
number of sparks filled the air. Many
worlds caught fire and burned. Again the
wild horses turned, this time toward the
earth. Then great Thor, who hal been
watching the wild flight. thought it high
time to interfere. Turning to Safer, he
. said:
Behold, the young man must be thrown
out of the chariot and the horses stopped.
1 would spare him for his fathers sake,
but the only safety for earth, and perhaps
Heaven as we'll, is to cast horses, chariot
and driver into the sea-
Then all-powerful Thor hurled his
mighty hammer with his full strength.
Whirling, end over end, IL struck the rush.
ing chariot squarely in the middle and
overturned it. Sterna fell headlong into
the river out yonder, where he was changed
into that black rock, a monument of a
young mans rashness. The blazing sun
fell into the sea away over there TO the
west. and so its career Of danger was
ended. Warned by the narrow escape of
all creation, Thor decreed that hencefor-
ward the sun should swing back and forth
in a half circle. sinking every night into
the sea and rising every morning from
behind the mountains. And so it has been
ever since. No longer carried in a chariot
drawn by fiery horses, the sun can never
again make a crooked path among the
stars. But from the time of that memora-
BILE flight, the sparks which flew off from
the sun have struck upon this earth. thus
never allowing men to forget the folly of
Soma"
Just as Uncle Frank finished the old tale
the great clock in the hall struck nine.
Then the aunts came in and bundled the
cousins off to their beds, where they per-
haps dreamed of driving blazing chariots
after Great and Little Bears.
cant's standing. and geography and read
ing addresses. each with weight Of %. For