How The Stars Came To Be (Hardback)

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The daughter of a fisherman worries about her father when he is out in his boat at night, so is thankful to the moon for lighting his way. However, on the few nights each month when the moon makes its journey to the other side of the world, her father is surrounded by total darkness. She fears that he will not find his way home. Abruptly, an immortal’s voice echoed in her head. “Well done, Mortal. You are the first of your kind to get this far. The rest will not be easy. In a few moments it will be dark. I will place you in the sky. You have tonight, and tonight only, to solve my riddle and locate the crown. If you lose, you must stay in the sky forever. Are we agreed?” How the Stars Came to Be is a beautifully illustrated story of a girl who is concerned about her father (a fisherman) getting home safely at night when the moon is not present in the sky. This is a lovely traditional tale which provides an alternative, yet enchanting, reason for the stars coming to exist in the sky.

The Sun knows how the fisherman’s daughter dances with delight beneath her rays. Therefore she throws her a golden ray that shatters into a myriad of pieces. Can the fisherman’s daughter create a magical pathway that will guide her father. It seems that this is How the Stars Came to Be. You are correct, unfortunately. The crown is only a symbol of power and of greed.” The immortal sighed, “I cannot give you the crown. It was destroyed long ago. However, I can give you this.” Long ago and once upon a time, there lived a princess. Her name was Oriana, and her entire court loved her. She always helped those in need and had a smile for everyone. Oriana wasn’t vain, although she had every reason to be. She had wavy, raven hair that fell past her knees; pure, olive skin; and a face that was perfectly oval. Her real beauty, however, lay in her eyes. Whenever Oriana felt an emotion strongly, they changed from their usual ebony to true gold.

The voice had been getting softer and softer. Oriana’s last conscious thought before falling asleep was, “I’m home in my bed.” The First Woman was carefully placing jewels one by one in the dark night sky. While she did this, Coyote watched from the shadows and asked what she was doing. She explained that she was planning deliberate patterns which the Navajo people would be able to read to understand their laws. Coyote asked to help but he was impatient and began to moan that it was taking too long. So, Coyote grabbed the stars from her hands, and threw them into the sky, disrupting her careful patterns and creating chaos. That is how the stars came to be in the sky.

Oriana stood quietly for a moment, studying her aunt. Then she opened her left hand. The golden flame twined round her fingers and blazed in her palm, lighting the entire gathering. The court watched breathlessly as she began to speak. In Greek mythology, Cepheus and Cassiopeia were the king and queen of ancient Ethiopia — now they are the King and Queen in our stars. They had a beautiful daughter, Andromeda. Cassiopeia was incredibly vain, and boasted of her daughter’s beauty, telling people she was lovelier than even the Nereids, sea nymphs whose beauty was renowned. This vanity angered the Nereids, who complained to the sea god Poseidon about the vain queen’s words. To punish the queen for her arrogance, Poseidon sent floods and a sea monster, Cetus— though this constellation is often called the Whale in astronomy—to terrorize the coast of Ethiopia. Desdemona was horrified. If she refused to take it, the court would think she had done something evil. If she took it, the entire court would know she had done evil. She said, “Of course, you know you are putting me into a rather awkward position, dear Oriana. I shall need to consult with my personal psychic prior to accepting your gift; but rest assured,” she continued, an evil gleam in her eye, “justice will prevail.” The myth was retold in a children’s book, How the Stars Fell into the Sky: A Navajo Legend (1996), written by Jennie Oughton and illustrated by Lisa Desimini. Oriana sighed and nodded. No matter what her aunt thought, she wasn’t stupid. She knew that Desdemona just wanted to get rid of her. Where on earth was she supposed to find the crown? They had been looking for centuries and no one had ever found it! And at night, alone, she was liable to get killed. There was nothing in night’s sky to light her way, and Oriana couldn’t possibly carry enough oil for a lantern.The sun takes pity on the girl and throws a golden ray of light down to earth, where it shatters into a million glittering pieces. It tells her to place each shard into the night sky, where it will twinkle and glow, so that the fisherman will always have light to guide him home safely. Yet what if a Monkey is attracted to the wonder of these lights? Could it be that the starry pattern that the girl is creating with such effort might be destroyed? What might happen if Monkey decides that he will throw the fragments into the sky? Is it possible that this could be How the Stars Came to Be, thereafter? Desdemona was furious when a maid came running to her room, shrieking that the princess was home. It didn’t help that her plan to be the center of attention had failed. She had thought that with Oriana out of the way, the entire court would love her. On the contrary, the people hated her even more because there was no one to cheer them as Oriana had. The fisherman’s daughter loved to dance in the sunlight, and bathe in the glow of the moon, but when the moon would disappear for a few nights each month, she would worry about her father and how he would find his way home from sea in the deep darkness. When the sun finds her sobbing one night, he takes one of his rays and smashes it onto the ground, creating the stars and giving the girl the task of putting them into the dark night sky. How the Stars Came to Be is a beautifully illustrated new folk tale, showing us a new way to look up at the night sky.

Jealous of the way the court adored her niece but detested her, Desdemona devised a plan. If she were to send Oriana on a quest to find the lost crown . . . yes, that would work. The crown was the key to the realm’s power. It had been taken away by an immortal centuries ago, and the kingdom had been having difficulties ever since. Only someone of royal blood could touch the crown, so that fact gave Desdemona a legitimate reason for sending Oriana to reclaim it. Oriana’s father wouldn’t be able to argue with such a decision.The Cassiopeia constellation has the shape of an M or W, depending on how its position in the sky. (Image credit: Alamy) There are many traditional stories from different traditions which explain natural phenomena in a beautiful, poetic way. This Navajo tale explains the night sky.

The Sun hears the fisherman’s daughter weeping as she worries about her father returning safely. It seems there are nights every month when the moonlight disappears. Thereafter he is offered no light to guide his way. The Fisherman’s Daughter loved to dance in the sunlight, and bathe in the glow of the moon, but when the moon disappeared for a few nights each month, she worried about her father and how he would find his way home from the sea in the darkness of the night. One night the sun finds her sobbing and so he takes one of his rays and smashes it onto the ground, creating the stars and gives the girl the task of putting them into the dark night sky. Girl’ persists through adversity and difficult situations to complete the tasks she has set herself, even though she knows this is going to take an extremely long time. Therefore, this story would be helpful for illustrating to children that when a great deal of effort and care is put into a project or activity, there are great rewards. There is a condition, my aunt. Only one who is pure of heart may hold the Flame of Guilt. If someone unworthy touches it, she will spend the rest of her life as a servant in the Faerie Court.” Oriana searched her aunt’s face. A beautifully designed, deluxe edition of Poonam Mistry's CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal shortlisted children’s book, with a newly illustrated cover printed on a satin silk finish book cloth, with gold detailing and edges. A beautiful gift to treasure for generations.

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Stalking angrily to her throne, Desdemona waited for her niece to bring her the crown. At least with the crown she would be extremely powerful and could perhaps get rid of the little brat once and for all. She continued to think in this vein for some time and didn’t realize that Oriana was in the room until a courtier announced her. The story of how the stars came into the sky is a Navajo, or Navaho, folktale from North America. The Navajo are the second most populous of Native American peoples, based predominantly in New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. Navajo religion remains widely practiced and has many intricate traditions, many relating the tales of the creation of the Fourth World, in which we currently live, the first people and the origins of certain phenomena or ceremonies. One version of the myth of the creation of the stars is preceded by another story in which First Woman creates the sun and the moon from quartz, and the stars from the pieces left over from the carving.