Once upon a time, evil spirits stole the Sun, plunging the tundra into everlasting gloom. Birds and beasts stumbled in darkness, struggling to find food.
They called a grand council. The wise old raven spoke: "The spirits hide the Sun in a white stone pot in a cavern. We must steal it back. Send the strongest, the Polar bear!"
"The bear!" cried all.
The ancient, half-deaf owl, busy repairing her sledge, heard the commotion. "Oh, no!" she cried upon learning the plan. "The bear will forget his mission for a scrap of food."
The animals agreed. The raven then suggested the wolf, the next strongest and swiftest.
"Fiddlesticks!" snapped the owl. "The greedy wolf will stop for a deer and forget the Sun."
Again, the animals agreed. A tiny mouse squeaked: "Send the hare! He's our best runner."
"The hare!" everyone cried.
The owl, informed for a third time, pondered. "Yes, he hops and skips well, and is not selfish. No one can catch him."
So the hare was chosen. Guided by the raven, he journeyed for many days until he spied a shaft of light from a crack in the earth. Peering in, he saw a ball of fire in a white stone pot, lighting a vast cavern where evil spirits slept on reindeer hides.
The brave hare squeezed through the crack, snatched the fiery ball, and sprang back out. The spirits gave chase.
Running for his life, the hare felt them close behind. Just as they were about to grab him, he kicked the ball hard with his hind legs, breaking it in two: one part small, one big. He kicked the smaller part high into the air, where it became the Moon. He then kicked the larger part even higher, and it became the Sun.
Light flooded the earth. The evil spirits, blinded, scampered back underground, never to return. All the birds and beasts praised the brave little hare who rescued the Sun.