Before time began, the Earth was flat and empty. Then the Rainbow Serpent awoke from her slumber beneath the ground. She rose, colorful and massive, and slithered across the land, carving rivers and shaping mountains.
As she moved, she brought life. From her body came water, and from water came plants and animals. She made homes for each creature: tall trees for birds, cool caves for bats, and wetlands for frogs.
But the animals grew quarrelsome. They forgot the Serpent’s gift and began to take more than they needed.
The Serpent watched in silence until one day, she vanished. The rivers dried, and the sky turned red with dust.
The Elders gathered the people. “We must sing the songs of creation and restore harmony.” They danced, painted the Serpent’s image on rocks, and told the Dreamtime stories.
Moved by the remembrance, the Serpent returned. Rain fell. Rivers flowed. Her colors stretched across the sky in a great arc—red, yellow, green, blue—reminding all to honor balance and connection.
Moral: Creation must be respected, or it will sleep again.
