The Parable of the Rainbow

When the Sun and Rain first met, they fought each other in fierce battle, for both wanted to dominate the sky. The Sun declared, "Only I shall rule the sky! My glorious rays give the earth warmth and light."

The Rain retorted, "My nourishing waters give the earth no less than life itself. The earth cannot exist without me. Only I deserve to rule the sky! I will spread out my clouds and not let you pass through."

The Sun replied, "The earth needs me, not you. I will burn your clouds until they dry up and disappear. I will not allow your cold darkness to rule the face of the earth."

The two battled for centuries without decisive victory. Each could gain only temporary control of the skies. The Rain did not have enough clouds to cover the whole face of the earth. Though the Sun was many times successful in drying up the clouds, the Rain never failed to regroup and form new clouds to reblanket the earth.

Only the earth suffered when one held the upper hand. When the Sun dominated, drought destroyed the land. When the Rain ruled, floods drowned nearly all the life that was left after the Sun's deadly heat.

When they realized they were slowly destroying what they both loved most, the two great forces in nature, the Sun and the Rain, decided to end their old feud. They saw the folly of believing one is more important than the other and acknowledged they each had something equally valuable to give.

So it is that now, whenever these two great forces of nature meet in the same place, instead of warring, they together form a colorful rainbow as a symbol of their truce.