The Earth on Turtles Back

Before this Earth existed, there was only water. It stretched as far as one could see, and in that water there were birds and animals swimming around. Far above, in the clouds, there was a Skyland. In that Skyland there was a great and beautiful tree. It had four white roots which stretched to each of the sacred directions, and from its branches all kinds of fruits and flowers grew.
There was an ancient chief in theSkyland. His young wife was expecting a child, and one night she dreamed that she saw the Great Tree uprooted. The next morning she told her husband the story.
He nodded as she finished telling her dream. “My wife,” he said, “I am sad that you had this dream. It is clearly a dream of great power and, as is our way, when one has such a powerful dream we must do all that we can to make it true.The Great Tree must be uprooted.”
Then the Ancient Chief called the young men together and told them that they must pull up the tree. But the roots of the tree were so deep, so strong, that they could not budge it. At last the Ancient Chief himself came to the tree. He wrapped his arms around it, bent his knees and strained. At last, with one great effort, he uprooted the tree and placed it on its side. Where the tree’s roots had gone deep into the Skyland there was now a big hole. The wife of the chief came close and leaned over to look down, grasping the tip of one of the Great Tre’es branches to steady her. It seemed as if she saw something down there, far below, glittering like water.She leaned out further to look and, as she leaned, she lost her balance and fell into the hole.Her grasp slipped off the tip of the branch, leaving her with only a handful of seeds as sh fell, down, down, down, down.
Far below, in the waters, some of the birds and animals looked up.
“Someone is falling toward us from the sky,” said one of the birds.
“We must do something to help her,” said another. Then two Swans flew up. They caught the Woman From the Sky between their
wide