How the Firefly Got Its Light

Listen, my children, and gather around while I tell you how Firefly, that most mystical of all the creatures, received its light.

Firefly didn't always look the way you see on midsummer nights, oh no. At first, it was an ordinary beetle, rather small, with a tiny reddish-orange head and some black wings with a narrow stripe down each side. Not shiny and blue or iridescent like some beetles, not flashy like the colorful butterflies. Oh no, not at all. Just like now, you would seldom notice one clinging to a grass stem or the stalk of a flower during the day. Even in those days, they hunted at night for slugs and snails to eat, but an unsuspecting slug would never see it.

In those days, the stars were much closer to us, and some stars could even leave the sky and come to converse with the citizens of our realm.

One day, one of the most ancient stars named Hotaru, who knew she was dying, came down to say farewell. She was troubled, however, and didn't want her light to disappear from the Earth forever. Her light was a very important one. Whenever darkness or ignorance threatened to take over the world at night in the world of men, her light reminded them of the good light of daytime and the benefits of knowledge. But, living in the sky even though surrounded by other stars, she stood alone and had no one to leave the care of her light to.

She decided to hold a contest to see if anyone could be worthy of taking it. The winner would be whoever could hold up her light the longest and show its beauty to the best advantage. She called all of the animals to her and explained her requirements.

First, Bison came forward to try. He held the light in his mouth for almost a second before spitting it out. "I burned my tongue!" he cried. "I don't want to do this." And so Bison gave up his place.

Next, Eagle tried. He flew up with the light in his feet. Though he flew as high as he could, the light couldn't be seen in the daylight. "I'm sorry," said Hotaru," though you fly well, my light can't be seen at all in the light from the sun." However, Eagle was not sorry. The light was of great weight, and strong as he was, he had already been tired of carrying it before he returned to the ground.

Raccoon climbed the tallest tree he could find and held up the light, but soon he was hungry and lost interest in holding it. He brought the light back to Hotaru and clumsily ambled away.

One by one, each of the animals tried to hold up the precious light all through the day until the sun was setting.

Finally, only Beetle was left. The light was dimming, and Hotaru almost missed him in the dusk.

"I can carry your light," said Beetle.

"You are so small," she replied. "How could you ever carry my light?"

"I will gather all my relatives," replied Beetle. "You will see what we can do together that none of the other animals could achieve."

Now it was nearly night, but undaunted by the gathering dark, Beetle collected his entire family. There were hundreds of aunts, uncles, and cousins. Each of them took a small piece of Hotaru's light.

One by one, they rose slowly into the air. The starlight they carried was inconstant and moved from one place to another, winking as if to show all of the stars in the sky and not just one.

It was a beautiful sight, and Hotaru felt calm and peaceful looking at her light blazing here and there. Even though the beetle clan could not hold her light constant in their flight, and it was divided, it filled the entire night with light. They kept on until dawn began to appear over the horizon.

"You have won the contest," Hotaru exclaimed. "You may have my light. To remember me, I hope you will change your name to Hotaru and be known from today as the fire that flies."

Saying this, she faded from sight and was never seen again in the sky or on Earth.

Today we have shortened the name to Firefly. Firefly and his family still carry Hotaru's starlight between their wings in her memory. When we see them, we still smile and marvel, as Hotaru did thousands of years ago. Their silent spark brings us peace and hope for the world. The tiny lights rising from the grass at dusk remind us to seek guidance in the light of wisdom when in dark places.