The Northern Lights

(picture from wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora)

One Night the stars were shining bright, and on Mt. Olympus 

Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft ,and Iris, the goddess of rainbows were having a huge fight.  

How did this fight occur? you might ask. Well…Hecate had bragged that she could make something even more beautiful than a rainbow and Iris out of rage had started a fight. 

“Rainbows are more beautiful then anything you could create Hecate!!!!” shouted Iris. using her powers to turn Hecate’s toga rainbow colored. Hecate used her powers to send a flashing beam of light and hounds at Iris. Then Iris sent a beam of rainbows at Hecate. Hecate who didn’t want anymore rainbows tried to block it with a beam of light. It did shield hecate, but as the rainbow hit it it went shooting up into the sky. 

The sky grew brighter and brighter. “Did you destroy the stars?!!” asked Iris. She knew what Zeus would say if she and Hecate had destroyed the universe. After awhile… the sky cleared up. The stars were still there, thankfully, but something new that hadn’t been there before was there.  A beam of light that was colorful like a rainbow was over the sky almost brighter than the stars 

‘Rainbows at night? Now that’s odd.’ thought Hecate. 

“It’s beautiful,” said Iris. “and colorful.”  

Down on earth an astronomer was looking up at the stars when he noticed something new he hadn’t seen before. “By the gods” he said and gasped. Iris and Hecate were debating what to call the new thing in the sky, they had stopped their fight. “I think we should call it The Rainbow Lights,” said Iris. “No…not that..too much rainbow in it,” grumbled Hecate. “How about The Lights of Doom?” said Hecate. 

“No..too scary,” said Iris. “How about we let the mortals name it…” Iris added. 

Down on earth the mortals stared up at the sky some were scared others were amazed , “What have the gods done now?” asked someone in trembling voice. “Probably something to amuse mortals” said another. “Or to frighten them” said another person. “Why would the gods want to frighten us?” asked another person. “I don’t know…we didn’t give them enough offerings?”. “Well the lights are pretty…that’s all. and I think the gods meant it to be beautiful” said a woman. Woman didn’t normally talk in public very often..they mostly stayed at home and sewed and cleaned. “And I shall call it “The northern lights”” she added. “This can’t be right women can not name things the gods made only men can” said a man. “That’s not true!!” shouted the women. “Yes it is , and you do not have a right to speak” said a man. “Yes I do!!!”. 

The men and the women quarreled and quarreled until Hecate and Iris were tired of it and went down to earth.

Hecate and Iris appeared in a puff of smoke .Iris would have complained about the entrance but there was something they had to fix. “We do not want to hear your quarreling anymore, and the northern lights is the name for this” said Iris and Hecate