Background for Teachers
The lessons with a bible theme aim to teach middle schoolers about our Unitarian Universalist approach to the Bible. In Unitarian Universalism, the bible is seen as a library, a collection of small books bound together. The word "Bible" is Greek for "books". The Bible is made up of 2 sections, sometimes called the Old Testament and the New Testament. We, as UU’s, want to honor the fact that the Jewish people do not refer to their sacred text as "Old Testament". Instead, we can refer to the 2 sections as the Jewish Scriptures, or Torah, and the Christian Scriptures.
We believe that the Bible is the result of many people and writing over centuries of time, a long time ago. These people were trying to answer some very important questions, such as "When did the world begin, and how?" "Where did people come from" and "What does it mean that men and women feel about each other the way they do?" Although some people believe that the Bible’s answers to these questions are the only right ones (and they often call the Bible "the Word of God" for that reason), UU’s believe that there is no one final answer. There is "truth" in the Bible, in the truth of the insights and stories that still speak to us today. There is beauty, and myth, and poetry, and compelling stories that are worth knowing.
We acknowledge that our world has changed, though, and these stories are the result of times that are very ancient. We must use our own experiences and think for ourselves as well.
-paraphrased from "What to Tell Young People About Unitarian Universalism… a guide for adults to help in answering large questions simply." by Charles S. Giles.
" (William Ellery Channing’s) defense of Unitarianism was also a defense of the Bible and of religion. He recoiled against "the contemptuous manner in which human reason is often spoken of by our adversaries, because it leads, we believe, to universal skepticism." His words remain important even today, because fundamentalism of the right has its whiplash in fundamentalism of the left. When the true believer proclaims that the Bible is the unique word of God – to be accepted without question – the true unbeliever responds by dismissing scripture as a figment of demented imaginations.
A handful of Unitarian Universalists boast that in their church the only time the words "Jesus Christ" are uttered during worship is when their minister trips on the steps. Channing would have found them as unreasonable as those in this day who read their Bibles without thinking. To him the Bible was written not by God, but by inspired people, drawing from both history and experience, who sought to understand better the larger meaning of life and death. Fundamentalists may trivialize the Bible by excluding reason as the principal tool by which it may be understood, but this does not mean that reasonable reflections upon the stories and teachings contained therein cannot markedly advance our own humble search for meaning and for faith.
In addition to William Ellery Channing, another Bostonian who had something new to say about religion was Theodore Parker. In his great sermon, "The Transient and the Permanent in Christianity, " Parker offered a dynamic resolution for those of us who wish to mine the Bible for its wisdom without sacrificing our critical faculties. Much of what the Bible contains is time- bound, he argued, and therefore of marginal relevance to us today. But it also contains eternal truths, which we can mine without ever exhausting. "The solar system as it exists in fact is permanent", Parker wrote, "though the notions of Thales and Ptolemy, of Copernicus and Descartes, about this system, prove transient, imperfect approximations to the true expression. So the Christianity of Jesus is permanent, though what passes for Christianity with popes and catechisms, with sects and churches, in the first century or in the nineteenth century, prove transient also."
…ln the Bible, when religion is defined, its requirements entail concrete duties, not abstract theological formulations. "What does the Lord require of you," the prophet Micah asked, "but to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God." That is as abstract and theological as it gets. …Like many other Unitarian Universalists, I mine the Bible for that which inspires me to be a better person, more loving, more neighborly. It is rich in such material. But the Bible is not a single, sacrosanct book; it is a whole library of books representing the history, legends, laws, wisdom, and poetry of a people. And even these have been edited and re-edited over the centuries; some are of lesser intrinsic interest, more dated by historical context and theological circumstance, than others; some are dramatically uneven in spiritual quality, the most sublime sentiments coupled with theological and ethical barbarisms in the same text. Thus, in drawing inspiration from scriptural teachings as one of the sources of our faith, most Unitarian Universalists approach them more critically than do some orthodox Christians and Jews. Biblical literalists claim that the Bible is the transcript of God’s word; biblical humanists are more likely to look beyond the letter to the spirit- the spirit of neighborliness, of kinship, of love.
…Some Unitarian Universalists, who still suffer from a religious education based on teachings from the Bible that inspired fear rather than love in their hearts, have little desire to return to the Bible and reclaim its essential teachings as part of their own faith. Others, Unitarian Universalist Christians, center their faith and their devotions on the scriptures. But however we gauge the nature of the Bible’s authority, nearly all of us can embrace the principle of neighborliness at the heart of the Judeo-Christian tradition. From A Chosen Faith by Buehrens and Church, p. 131.
Are the stories in the Bible true?
Timeless Themes by Gowdy, Moore, and Skwire, and Connections by CLF
Goal: To understand that the Bible is a collection of stories, written long ago. To understand that “truth” can mean a story that is true for us in meaning but not necessarily historical fact.
Preparation:
• Read “Background for Teachers”
• Collect a variety of Bibles from your local library, family or friends. (If you are interested in purchasing a family resource, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Bible, by Jim Bell and Stan
Campbell—is very kid-friendly)
• Print Bible Trivia Questions and/or Bible Pictionary quotations and background and instructions. Cut into strips.
• Print “Beatitudes of Jesus” by Rev. F. Forrester Church
Activities:
Introduce the topic by saying something like the following.:
The Bible is not historically true and accurate like a dictionary, but it is not fiction, like Harry Potter books either. It is a mixture of history and stories that hold truth, like myths and poetry. As one girl said [a myth] “is something that is true on the inside, but maybe not the outside.” Stories in the Bible are not always true on the outside but there are parts that teach us something that is true on the inside.
Use the example of Jonah and the Whale. It probably couldn’t be true, but Hebrews used it to illustrate how someone who tried to avoid doing something unpleasant couldn’t escape it. Jonah tried to flee when Yahweh asked him to take a trip to Nineva and tell them about God’s message. The truth, the wisdom for us, is that when we try to avoid doing something unpleasant, it may well feel like we are being swallowed alive. Finally when we realize that we might as well just DO IT, we are released.
Think of a time when you felt “swallowed alive” by some issue—avoiding an unpleasant job or avoiding confessing the truth. Ask your kids to think of a time they did. Discuss.
UUs value wisdom and learning, changing and growing. By reading these stories and searching for the inside truth, we are being helped to learn and grow.
Play Bible Trivia Game:
Divide your family into 2 groups if possible and give each group a pile of trivia questions. One group pulls a question from their pile and poses it to the other group. Discuss among yourselves. If the group answers correctly, they try to answer another question. Continue until they are stumped, or until you want to switch roles. If you come on a question that no one knows the answer to, try to find the answer in the Bibles you have collected.
Play Bible Pictionary:
Like the popular Pictionary games, this one involves 2 teams and paper and pencils for drawing the word to be guessed. Place the quotes in a basket. Taking turns, teams draw a quote from the pile. Each quote has one key word in bold face type. The object of the game is to get your teammates to guess the key word in the quote using only pictures. After the word is guessed, the team finds the quote in one of the Bibles you have collected. Play a few rounds without a timer to see how you do and then add a time limit to make it more challenging.
Bible Pictionary Background and Instructions
When I was growing up, the Bible was a big part of my religious indoctrination. I know my kids need to learn about the Bible it’s so much a part of the world. But getting back into it pushes so many of my buttons — it’s just too confusing. Sound familiar? The Bible is one of those "difficult topics" for many UU parents. We want our children to know the classic stories and famous quotes of the Bible but are unsure how to teach them and, in some cases, unsure why it is important. This hesitancy is understandable.
Many UUs who come from faith traditions in which the Bible is considered the "word of God" — the only religious authority — fear any Bible instruction as potential indoctrination. I have often found the old Universalist image of the Bible-as-a-gold-mine helpful in thinking about Bible study. As you dig for the gold, you find a lot of stuff you want to reject, some you want to save and decide about later, and some you know is the real thing.
We need to teach our children to be Bible gold-miners, for there is much in the Bible that speaks to our UU faith. After all, liberal religion evolved from traditional Christianity.
Many UU precepts and values are stated in the Bible. Knowing where and how to find these spiritual and religious gems reinforces the values and helps children converse intelligently in our Judeo/Christian-dominant culture. You can start introducing the Bible when your children are young by reading from either a children’s Bible or a collection of Bible stories.
Timeless Themes and The Life and Teachings of Jesus are two good sources to borrow from the CLF Loan Library. The UUA Bookstore carries several different illustrated children’s Bibles. But to really become "Bible literate," children need to be familiar with the real thing. Being naturally curious about where things come from, children enjoy using their reading skills to look things up in the Bible–especially if it’s made into a game. Here’s an idea from UU educator Virginia Steele called Bible Pictionary. This summer, add this game to your family’s repertoire. It’s a lively, fun way to learn famous Biblical quotations. Reading in greater depth may naturally follow. Here’s how to play.
Bible Pictionary Materials:
Bible Cards with Biblical quotes —cut from this page or make your own–placed in a basket or "grab bag"
Pencils, crayons or markers
Timer (optional)
Object: To get your teammates to guess within one minute the word you are drawing (or untimed if you prefer) and to then locate the Bible passage in which the word is found.
How to Play:
Divide your family into two teams. Taking turns, one person from each team picks a quote from the basket and tries to get his/her teammates to guess the key word (the one in capital letters) by drawing pictures.
After the keyword is identified, the drawer looks up the quote in the Bible and reads the whole passage aloud. (e.g.: BREAD "Give us this day our daily bread." Matthew 5:24, is found in the book of Matthew, chapter 5, verse 24.)
Bible Pictionary Quotations
ALONE “Man does not live by bread alone.” Deuteronomy 8.5
ALIVE “Joseph my son is still alive.” Genesis 45.28
ANGEL “An angel of the Eternal appeared to them, and the glory of the Eternal shone around them.” Luke 2.9
ARK “Make yourself an ark of gopher wood.” Genesis 6.14
COMMAND “This I command you, to love one another.” John 15.17
DAUGHTER “The daughter of Pharoah came down to bathe at the river.” Exodus 2.5
BEGINNING “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1.1
CROWN “…and does crown him with glory and honor.” Psalm 8.5
DRINK “The people murmured against Moses, saying, ‘What shall we drink?” Exodus 15.24
BREAD “Give us this day our daily bread.” Matthew 5.24
DESERT “He turns a desert into pools of water…” Psalm 107.35
EAT “You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden.” Genesis 3.3
CHURCH “…how one ought to behave in the household of God,…the church of the living God.” Timothy 3.15
DEVIL “Jesus was led by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” Matthew 4.1
FEAST “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Eternal.” Exodus 12.14
DOVE “…he sent forth the dove out of the ark.” Genesis 8.8
FISH “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” Matthew 14.17
FREE “Live as free men, yet without using your freedom as a pretext for evil; but live as servants of God.” Peter 2.16
FRIEND “A friend loves at all times.” Proverbs 17.17
GARDEN “The Eternal planted a garden in Eden.” Genesis 2.8
GIFT “You thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!” Acts 8.20
GRAPES “You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles?” Matthew 7.16
HEART “He who has clean hands and a pure heart…he will receive a blessing from God.” Psalmm 24.4-5
HELP “For I, the Eternal your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you. ‘Fear not, I will help you.” Isaiah 41.14
HOME “Even the sparrow finds a home.” Psalm 84.3
HUNGRY “If your enemy is hungry, feed him.” Romans 12.20
JESUS “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.” Matthew 1.21
KING “Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.” Exodus 1.8
LOVE “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Leviticus 19.18
MONEY “The love of money is the root of all evils.” 1 Timothy 6.10
MOUNTAIN Then Moses went up on the mountain.” Exodus 24.15
NEIGHBOR “But he…said to Jesus, ‘Who is my neighbor?” Luke 10.29
NOISE “Make a joyful noise to the Eternal!” Psalm 100
POOR “Blessed is he who considers the poor!” Psalm 41.1
PRAYER “Hear my prayer, O God, and give ear to my cry.” Psalm 39.12
PARENTS “His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover.” Luke 2.41
PRISON “I was in prison and you came to me.” Matthew 25.36
SING “Sing praises to God, sing praises!” Psalm 47.6
SHARE “Is it not to share your bread with the hungry?” Isaiah 58.7
STORM “And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea.” Matthew 8.24
RAIN “…your Father who is in heaven…sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” Matthew 5.45
RIVER “and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.” Matthew 3.6
RICH “Thus says the Eternal: ‘Let not the rich man glory in his riches.” Jeremiah 9.23
TENT “So he (Abraham) build an alter there and called upon the name of the Eternal, and pitched his tent there.” Genesis 26.25
TOOTH “…it was said, ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist one who is evil.” -Jesus Matthew 5.38
SEASON “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven…” Ecclesiastes 3.1
INHERIT “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Matthew 5.5
SALT “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its tast, how shall its saltiness be restored?” Matthew 5.13
WORSHIP “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” -Jesus John 4.24
WORLD “You are the light of the world…Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works.” -Jesus Mathhew 5.14
FORGIVE “And Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.’” Luke 23.34
LAW “On these two commandments depend all the law and prophets.” Matthew 22.40
FAMINE “The seven years of plenty that prevailed in the land of Egypt came to an end; and the seven years of famine began to come” Genesis 41.53
QUEEN “…and women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven…” Jeremiah 7.18
SHEEP “All we like sheep have gone astray.” Isaiah 53.6
SEA “Some went down to the sea in ships.” Psalm 107.23
SEED “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.” Matthew 13.24
The Birth of Buddha: A Story from India
THIS IS THE WONDER TALE about the birth of Buddha. It is an older story than the one abut the birth of Jesus.
Buddha’s mother was a Queen who lived in a grand palace in the faraway country of India. It was summer time. For almost a week the King and Queen and all the people of their land had been celebrating the annual summer festival. Each evening hundreds of men and women had gathered in the King’s palace gardens to dance and be happy. Daily the King and Queen, sitting each on a royal chair hoisted on the shoulders of strong men, had been carried in procession through the streets of the city. All the while musicians made music with harps and drums and the people crowded about their rulers singing and throwing garlands of flowers into the royal chairs. And many were the gifts that the King and Queen gave away in return. The people said:
"Our Queen Maya is beautiful as a water lily, and as pure in her thoughts as the white lotus flower."
At the end of the last day of the festival, the tired Queen went to her own room and lay down on her couch to rest. Soon she was fast asleep and dreaming.
She dreamed that four beautiful and strong angels were lifting her up from her couch and carrying her off. Higher and higher they flew with her, until they were near the top Of a very great mountain.
The angels showed her a palace gleaming like gold. They led her up its marble steps. They showed her through one beautiful room after another until finally she came to a bedroom that seemed to have been made just for her.
In her dream, she heard the angels tell her to lie down on the couch to rest. Presently, she saw a pure white elephant quietly enter the room. Gentle as an angel he seemed as he came up to her couch and stood beside her. On the end of his trunk he carried a large lotus flower, white as the cleanest snow, and he gave it to the Queen.
That very moment when the Queen took the flower, the room was filled with a heavenly light. In her dream she heard a terrific earthquake. Even the deaf heard the great roar, and the blind were suddenly able to see. Men who had been dumb and unable to speak began at once to talk together. Lame persons rose from their beds and walked. Beautiful music was heard everywhere. Harps played without anyone touching the strings. Trees at once began to blossom with new flowers. Lotus buds of all colors burst into bloom everywhere. Even the wild animals became gentle. None roared or howled or frightened children anywhere.
In the morning when the Queen awoke from her dream, she found herself in bed in her own palace as if nothing had happened. At once, she told the King the story of her dream, and the two were filled with wondering. The King said:
"I will call my sixty-four counselors immediately."
The sixty-four counselors hurried at once to the palace. The King welcomed them with refreshments of rice and honey, and told them his wife’s dream.
"What does the dream mean? What is it that is going to happen" he asked. The chief counselor answered:
"Do not be anxious, O King! The dream is a good one. Your Queen is going to have a baby boy. When he is grown this child will either be King in your place or he will become a great teacher who will teach the people of many countries to know what they do not now understand. He will free them from their evil ways and will lead them to live in peace."
When the King heard these words from his chief counselor, he was very pleased, for the King did not yet have a boy child who could be taught to become a King.
Months afterwards, when the good Queen Maya realized that her baby would soon be born, she said to her husband:
"O King, I wish to go to the city of my parents."
Since the King wished to please his Queen, he consented, and ordered that her royal chair be made ready for her. He chose the strongest and best of his servants to take her safely to her mother’s home.
The royal procession had gone but halfway to the Queen’s former home, when they passed by a most
beautiful park. On catching sight of the masses of flowers among the trees, Maya the Queen insisted that she must get down out of her chair and spend a while walking through the grove. She wanted to stand under the trees and to breathe in the sweet perfume of their flowers.
Queen Maya walked into the beautiful grove. like singing with the birds that flitted about her. never before seen a lovelier spot.
A whole hour passed, but it seemed scarcely more than a few moments. Queen Maya began to feel that her baby was soon going to be born.
Quickly a couch was prepared for her and a curtain She felt She had thrown around her. When the baby was born, four angels appeared holding in their hands the four corners of 1 golden net. Into this net the baby was laid as if in a cradle, The angels spoke sweetly to the mother, and said:
"Be joyful, O Lady. A mighty son is born to you."
Presently four kings stood beside the four angels, and the angels gave the newborn child into the hands of the four kings. They in turn laid the child down on an antelope’s skin that was soft to the touch. Before long the mother thought she saw her babe lift himself up on his feet. He stood for a moment and looked around in all directions, He even took one step and another and another until he had walked seven steps. All the while one angel held a white umbrella over him and the other angels laid garlands of flowers before him.
Then the child lay down again upon his antelope blanket and soon fell asleep just like any other small baby.
As servants carried the mother and babe back to the palace angels sang above them in the sky. The King, hearing the strange music, ran to meet his Queen. When he saw his newborn boy child he danced for gladness. The King’s greatest wish had come true. He had a son! A Prince had been born who would some day rule the kingdom of the Sakyas! And the King called his son’s name Siddhartha Gautama.
But the young child never did become a King. When he was old enough to choose for himself, he decided there was something more important for him to do than to be a King. He felt he could not learn what he needed to know if he stayed on in a rich King’s palace. He wanted to know how it feels to be poor and hungry, and to work for one’s own food.
So in the darkness of night the young Prince fled from the palace, taking with him nothing but the clothes he had on. Even these clothes he soon exchanged for the clothes of a beggar. Walking from town to town, begging his food in the streets, sleeping in the woods, he hunted for men who were thought to be wise. He asked them questions. He also spent hours sitting alone in the shade of the forest thinking. He wondered about sickness and about dying, about what happens after dying and what happens before one is born.
So it came about after some years that this young man became wiser than those who tried to teach him. Even today, after two thousand five hundred years, the name of this man is honored every day by millions of people.
But he is not called by the name that his father gave him. He is called the Buddha. This name means "the man with a light." But the Light that Buddha had was no ordinary light such as the light of a lamp. His Light was for the heart and for the mind. His Light is not the kind that eyes can see. Nor is his Light the kind that burns the fingers.
Buddha’s Light you can feel only with your heart when you know you are at peace with yourself. Buddha’s Light is the Light of Truth.
Also see Buddha’s Teachings
Buddha’s Teachings
Buddha taught that both good things and hard things come to every person. Both are part of life. But if you choose to follow Buddhist law (called Dharma, or the Middle Way) you will live a good life and find peace, perhaps even reach Nirvana. You don’t need priests to pray for you, you don’t need to make sacrifices to the Gods, and you don’t have to be of a certain caste in society. Buddha taught that all people can avoid the extremes of behavior (selfish pleasure or self-denial) which lead to suffering, and follow the Middle Way to a good life. The Buddhist law is comprised of the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path.
Four Noble Truths (the causes of suffering):
1. Suffering consists of disease, old age, and death; separation from those we love; craving what we cannot obtain; hating what we cannot avoid.
2. All suffering is caused by desire and the attempt to satisfy our desires.
3. Therefore, suffering can be overcome by ceasing to desire.
4. The way to end desire is to follow the Eightfold Path.
The Eightfold Path (the solution):
This is a series of eight stages that lead to the end of desire. The first few can be achieved in everyday life, the later ones require more concentration and effort.
1. Right opinion: understanding the Four Noble Truths
2. Right intentions: a person decides to set his/her life on the
3. Right speech: not lying, criticizing unfairly, using harsh language, or gossiping
4. Right conduct: no kllling, stealing, cruelty or lustful activities
5. Right livelihood: earn a living in a way that doesn’t harm any living thing
6. Right effort: conquer all evil thoughts, try to have only good thoughts
7. Right mindfulness: becoming intensely aware of all states of body, mind, feelings
8. Right concentration: deep meditation that leads to higher state of consciousness
A person who practices right concentration will come to the enlightenment that Siddhartha attained.
Do Buddhists go to church?
& WhyDo Bad Things Happen? by Charlene Brotman
Goal:
To learn about the beliefs and practices of Buddhists.
Preparation:
• Print “The Story of Buddha”
• Print “The Four Noble Truths”
• Print the Symbol of Buddhism. Make enough copies for everyone to have one to decorate and use to remember the 8-fold path.
• Print Mudras
• Locate books in your local library with pictures of Buddha sculptures and Buddhist temples.
Activities:
1. Read “The Story of Buddha”
2. Make a poster of the Four Noble Truths and the 8-Fold Path, using the symbolic Buddhist Wheel.
3. Make a Buddha sculpture out of clay.
• Find pictures of Buddha statues in books in your local library or on the web.
• See how many different mudras you can find in the pictures of Buddha.
• Make your own Buddha sculpture out of clay.
Why do we light a chalice?
Goal:
to learn the history behind the UU flaming chalice symbol.
Activities:
• See "Why do we light a chalice?"
• Read: The Healing Cup
• Make your own family chalice or chalice banner. See Early Childhood
The Chief of the Well
To whom does the water belong?
There was once a drought in the country. The streams dried up and the wells went dry. There was no place for anybody to get water. The animals met to discuss the situation-the cow, the dog, the goat, the horse, the donkey, and all the others. They decided to ask God for help. Together they went to God and told him how bad things were.
God thought, then he said, "Don’t bother your heads. They don’t call me God for nothing. I will give you one well for everyone to use."
The animals thanked God. They told him he was very considerate. God said, "But you’ll have to take good care of my well. One of you will have to be caretaker. He will stay by the well at all times to see that no one abuses it or makes it dirty."
Mabouya, the ground lizard spoke up saying, "I will be the caretaker."
God looked at all the animals. He said at last, "Mabouya, the lizard, looks like the best caretaker. Therefore, I appoint him. He will be the watchman. The well is over there in the mango grove."
The animals went away. The lizard went directly to the well. When the other animals began to come back for water, Mabouya challenged them. First the cow came to drink. The lizard sang out in a deep voice:
"Who is it? Who is it?
Who is walking in my grove?"
The cow replied:
"It is I, the cow,
I am coming for water."
And the lizard called back:
"Go away! This is God’s grove,
And the well is dry."
So the cow went away and suffered from thirst.
Then the horse came and the lizard challenged him, saying:
‘Who is it? Who is it?
Who is walking in my grove?"
The horse answered:
"It is I, the horse,
I am coming for water."
And the lizard called back:
"Go away! This is God’s grove,
And the well is dry."
So the horse went away and he too suffered from thirst.
Each animal came to the well and the lizard challenged all of them in the same way, saying
:"Go away! This is God’s grove,
And the well is dry."
So the animals went away and suffered much because they had no water to drink.
When God saw all the suffering going on, he said, "I gave the animals a well to drink from, but they are all dying of thirst. What is the matter?" And he himself went to the well.When the lizard heard his footsteps, he called out:
"Who is it? Who is it?
Who is walking in my grove’?"
God answered:
"It is I, Papa God.
I am coming for water."
And the lizard said:
"Go away, Papa God.
The well is dry."
God was very angry. He said once more:
"It is I, Papa God.
I am coming for water."
And the lizard called back to him again:
"Go away, Papa God.
The well is dry."
God said no more to the lizard. He sent for the animals to come to the well. He said, "You came to me because you were thirsty and I gave you a well. I made Mabouya the caretaker. But he gave no thought to the suffering creatures all around him. If a man has a banana tree in his garden, it is his. If a man has a cotton tree in his garden, it is his. But if a man has a well in his garden, only the hole in the ground belongs to him. The water is God’s and belongs to all creatures. Because Mabouya, the lizard, became drunk with conceit, he is no longer the caretaker. Henceforth, he must drink his water from puddles wherever the rain falls. The new care-taker will be the frog. The frog will not say,’Go away, the well is dry.’ He will say,’This is God’s well; this is God’s well’."
So the animals drank at the well, while Mabouya, the lizard, went away from it and drank rain water wherever he could find it. The frog is now the caretaker. And all night he calls out:
"This is God’s well!
This is God’s well!
This is God’s well!"
And it is a saying among the people:
"The hole in the ground is yours,
The water is God’s."
(This story was taken from The Piece of Fire and Other Haitian Tales, 1964 by Harold Courlander. Reprinted by permission of Harcourt, Brace and Jovanovich, Inc., New York. Story came originally from West Africa.)
