Rainbow Snake Saves The People

When the people came to the land, they found water. "How delicious it is!" they exclaimed, for before then they had only sand to drink. Rainbow Snake, the essence of water, was glad to see people sip ofhimself, and he became as proud of these tailless creations of the Great Mother as he was of white grubs and wallabies and the rest of life, for he gave of himself to all.But Sand Bat, lord of lifelessness, grew angry as people forsook his grit for the refreshing liquid of Rainbow Snake. Stretching his winds everywhere, Sand Bat filled the new wells and streams with sand, and left the land parched.Since they had learned to love water and now were without it, the people began to die.Troubled by their plight, Rainbow Snake looked high and low for Sand Bat. When he came to a place where endless waves of sand rippled endlessly, there he found Sand Bat in a black cave stuck right into the sky. "Sand Bat, why are you so cruel? The people cannot drink sand", Rainbow Snake said. "It is the stuff of me that flows in their veins and it is the stuff of me that babies suck from their mothers. The people need water, not sand."

"That is no concern of mine”, Sand Bat laughed. "The people insult me. They must return to my ways to be noticed by me."

In the dryness of Sand Bat's home, Rainbow Snake felt dizzy and uncomfortable. But he had an idea. "Oh mighty Sand Bat," he said, "why do you chose to live in such a bad place as this? This little desert cannot bring you much strength."

"Little desert?" gasped Sand Bat, "Why, this great desert is the sandiest place in the world! I lead my clan because I hold so much sand."

"I know of a much sandier home," Rainbow Snake swore. "That is why I am surprised to see that you live here, in such a sandless place."

"Rainbow Snake, if there is a sandier place, I and all my clan shall move there and make it our home," Sand Bat vowed.

Rainbow Snake pointed the way, and Sand Bat's clan eagerly flew there. Rainbow Snake had told the truth, but the sandiest place was at the bottom of the sea - in water so deep that only Sand Bat was strong enough to struggle free of it. The rest of Sand Bat’s clan was trapped beneath the waters.

“Rainbow Snake, you have tricked me,” Sand Bat shouted. “I am going above the sky to live, far away from water.” And he left in great anger.

With Sand Bat gone, Rainbow Snake could flow everywhere, but even he was not big enough to be everywhere. So he told the people that he would come to them at certain times of the year. In case he forgot to come or was late, he whispered words of power into the ears of the wisest men, so that they could call to remind him.

After a storm, when the people see the coils of Rainbow Snake stretching across the land, they know all is well. But on the sea floor, far beneath the waves, Sand Bat’s clan sleep, waiting for the time when they may once again return to the lands of the people. And far above the sky, Sand Bat plots his revenge.