Bora the Kangaroo and his wife Dinewan Emu lived in a nan-nu, a grass hut. Bora was a great virinun. One evening, as he was getting ready for bed, he saw Dinevan making holes in the roof of the hut.
- Why are you doing this? - asked Bora.
“Just like that,” answered Dinevan.
“Then you’d better take some herbs and fix the roof.”
- There is no grass here.
“Then let’s go look for grass, otherwise you still won’t let me sleep.” And they went.
It was getting darker and darker every minute. Dinevan could not see where she was stepping, and the bindia thorns pierced her feet and caused pain. Limping, irritated by pain, she said:
“If you are as wise as you say, you can, of course, roll away the darkness.” Send her away to another country so that I can see where I’m stepping. My legs hurt. If you can drive away the darkness, then you are truly a great virinun. Oh my poor sore feet!
Crying, she rubbed her legs one against the other, and the thorns sank even deeper, forming large mounds on her legs. Since then, these bumps have remained on the emu's legs, and up to the knee joint their skin is bare and hard.
Bora was truly a great virinun. He told his wife:
“We’ll go to bed, and during this time I’ll drive away the darkness.”
They lay down. Having fallen asleep, Bora sent his sleep spirit Mulli-Mulli to collect the darkness and roll it to the west. Having accomplished this, Mulli-Mulli returned to the body of Bora, who woke up and saw that his spirit had done everything.
Bora turned to Dinewan and saw that she was sleeping, one eye open and one ear stuck out to see what he was doing. Then he said:
“My Mulli-Mulli has rolled the night away from us, there is no more darkness.” She left me forever. From now on, I and my people will see at night as during the day. We will be able to walk and eat, there is no more darkness for us. You will have to eat only during the day, and I, if I want, at night. You kept one eye open and listened with one ear. And from now on you will always sleep like this: first one side of your head will sleep, then the other, but never both together.
From that time on it was as Virinun Bora said.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru