Aurora Borealis. By Matthieu Hollaender & Pierre Caillet

Igor is small. He is a member of an Inuit community. One evening, he was playing by himself not far from the family home. Suddenly he rushed home to talk to his grandfather.

“Grandpa, I think the Gods are sending us a message!”

“What are you saying my little boy? What did you see?”

“I saw a big spot of color spreading in the sky! What was it grandpa?

“Come and sit beside me, next to the fire, I'll tell you the story of this mystery. You are now old enough to understand.”

They huddle together under the caribou skin.

“There are a lot of stories about this extraordinary thing you have seen; each country has its explanation, different from ours, but they are all wrong! Look at our neighbors, they are real poets! They think that a fox wanders through the Arctic snow and lights up the sky thanks to its tail sowing sparks of snow, giving off colors. And the fishermen of the Ice Lakes believe that it is the reflection of herring scales on the water! For the Inuit from the south of Alaska, those of the Yukon River, this special light in the sky simply represents the souls of deer, salmon, seal or beluga dancing. But this light also represents a threat. That is why they hunt it with their knives. To discourage their children from playing outside too late, their parents tell them that this special light will catch them, cut off their heads and play soccer with their heads! Of course it’s not true, don’t worry, it’s a silly superstition!”

“So, what’s the real reason, Grandad?”

“As you know, the sun is guarded by the God Odor and the moon is protected by Elanore. They fight each other because they both want to rule the world. That is why there is a period of darkness followed by a period of light. We have been in darkness for 4 months now. It’s the same every year. It’s because of a trick played by Elanore on Odor. She hides Odor’s light. The colored spots that you saw are stardust from Odor’s torch; he is looking in all the nooks and crannies for his sun. These spots do not last forever in the sky because the sun god is careful not to get caught by Elanore. That is why it changes place quite very often.”

“I am going out to help Odor find his sun, Grandad!”

“Oh, no you're not! You go to bed now. You can help him tomorrow find his sun…”

Igor went to bed, and he dreamt of stars...