Once upon a time the colours
of the world started to quarrel.
All claimed that they were
the best.
The most important.
The most useful.
The favourite.
Green said, "clearly I
am the most important. I am the sign of life and of hope. I
was chosen for grass, trees
and leaves. Without me, all animals would die. Look over the
countryside and you will see
that I am in the majority."
Blue interrupted, "you
only think about the earth, but consider the sky and the
sea. It is the water that is
the basis of life and drawn up by the clouds from the deep sea.
The sky gives space and
peace and serenity. Without my peace, you would all be
nothing."
Yellow
chuckled, "you are all so serious. I bring laughter, gaiety, and
warmth
into the world. The sun is yellow, the moon is yellow, and the stars are
yellow.
Every time you look at a sunflower, the whole world starts to smile.
Without
me there would be no fun."
Orange started next to blow
her trumpet, "I am the colour of health and strength.
I may be scarce, but I am
precious for I serve the needs of human life. I carry the most
important vitamins. Think of carrots, pumpkins, oranges,
mangoes, and papayas. I don't
hang around all the time,
but when I fill the sky at sunrise or sunset, my beauty is so
striking that no one gives
another thought to any of you."
Red could stand it no longer
he shouted out, "I am the ruler of all of you. I am
blood - life's blood! I am
the colour of danger and of bravery. I am willing to fight for a
cause. I bring fire into the
blood. Without me, the earth would be as empty as the moon.
I am the colour of passion
and of love, the red rose, the poinsettia and the poppy."
Purple rose up to his full
height. He was very tall and spoke with great pomp, "I
am the colour of royalty and
power. Kings, chiefs, and bishops have always chosen me
for I am the sign of
authority and wisdom. People do not question me! They listen and
obey."
Finally Indigo spoke, much
more quietly than all the others, but with just as
much determination:
"Think of me. I am the colour of silence. You hardly notice me, but
without me you all become
superficial. I represent thought and reflection, twilight and
deep water. You need me for
balance and contrast, for prayer and inner peace."
And so the colours went on
boasting, each convinced of his or her own
superiority. Their
quarrelling became louder and louder. Suddenly there was a startling
flash of bright lightening
thunder rolled and boomed. Rain started to pour down
relentlessly. The colours
crouched down in fear, drawing close to one another for
comfort.
In the middle of the
quarrel, rain began to speak, "you foolish colours, fighting
amongst yourselves, each
trying to dominate the rest. Don't you know that you were
each made for a special
purpose, unique and different? Join hands with one another and
come to me."
Doing as they were told, the
colours united and joined hands and became a beautiful rainbow.
