The Gift of the Last Ray ~ Short Stories

 

Long ago when the world was young and full of life, mankind lived in harmony with nature; however, every night, he fought with darkness. For each of them, some gods watched from above in the sky. There is Elysia, Goddess of the Sun; Nyara, Goddess of the Night; and Eleos, God of Compassion, who greatly loved humans.

Elysia would bring the warmth and light of day so that humans could go to work, play, and celebrate. However, during nightfall, there would be very heavy darkness over the land, which means it would not be possible for humans to see and would bring fear into their hearts because of the mystery of the unknown.

One day, a small village gathered to request a gift from the gods in order to ease their fear of the dark. The most humble villager, a young girl named Mira, climbed the tallest mountain and spoke to the gods.

After three days of climbing, Mira reached the peak and spoke to Eleos: "Oh, great god Eleos, we thank you for all the gifts of this world. But we fear in the night, for we are little, and the dark is wide. May You give us something to make us feel safe when the Sun goes down?"

Eleos heard Mira's plea and learned from her words. He called all the gods in the heavens to discuss Mira's request. Elysia, the goddess who loved bringing light to the world, agreed to help. She decided to offer a piece of her radiant power to help humanity.

"I will give them a gift—a single ray of the Sun that will follow them even after I descend," said Elysia.

The gods agreed upon this ray, that could be shared properly to ease the pain of humans if shared. But Nyara, the goddess of Night, was worried. "When the humans misuse this boon, the balance of night and day will be broken. Light can be powerful only when used by respecting and being kind with."

So Elysia called to Mira and gave her this small, warm gem glowing golden. "This is the Last Ray," Elysia said. "It will shine through the darkness, but it must be shared. If anyone keeps it for themselves, its light will dim. But if you share it with one another, it will grow brighter, and you will have enough light for every village."

Mira thanked the gods and brought the Last Ray back to her village. She was brightened by how radiant it was. The gods asked her to put the gem in the middle of the village, and all people came to gather around it every night. As they were narrating their tales, warming one another's hearts with love and care, then the gem would shine brighter and light up all the village and fill the night with a gentle, rather comforting glow.

The news of the Last Ray spread, and people from the neighboring villages came to Mira's village asking if they could have light for their villages. Mira remembered the goddess's words and decided to share pieces of the Last Ray with them. As each village shared in the light and continued to care for it, the light spread farther, connecting the villages in a circle of warmth.

Soon, some people wanted the light for themselves. A greedy man in a distant village determined that he would hide his piece of the Last Ray in his house. It grew dim and cold that night, losing all power. He could not reignite it. In his darkness, he learned a lesson: the strength of the Last Ray was not to possess it but to share it.

From then on, he merged with others to reveal his light. The villages began to care for one another, getting close. Soon they forgot the terror of night for they never walked in the dark again.

The gods smiled when they could see the human being now bathed in compassion and in community because true light wasn't the gift but in how it was given.

 

Moral: A true gift brightens more with people.

Here are some questions and answers in child-friendly language related to the story:

Q1: Which gods were featured in the story, and what each did?

Answer: The gods included Elysia-the goddess of Sun who gave warmth and light; Nyara-the goddess of Night, which gave darkness; and Eleos, the god of Compassion, loved and cared for humans.

Q2: Why do you think that the people got frightened in the dark?

Answer: The people were scared because it was really dark, and they couldn't see anything. Darkness made them feel that they were lonely and they did not know what lay around them.

 Q3: Who is Mira, and what has she done for her village? 

 Answer: Mira was a modest little girl from the village. She climbed up to the top of a high mountain to ask the gods to give her something as a gift so that her village might feel safe at night.

Q4: What gift did Elysia give to Mira and her village?

Answer: She gifted Mira a gem, called the "Last Ray," which would glow in the dark and light the entire village, as long as the people shared it with kindness.

Q5: What happened when the greedy man tried to keep the light for himself?

Answer: : The light of his piece of the Last Ray became dim and weakened its power because he never shared it. He figured out that the light can shine brightly only if he shares it with others.

 Q6: What was the big lesson that everyone learned from the Last Ray?

 Answer: they understood that true light, like happiness, grow big in sharing. Keep all these to yourself: we becomes weak, warm however comes to all from having these shared.

Q7: Villages are changed after shared The Last Ray

 Answer: They started to care for their siblings. They were no more threatened of the night.

 Q8: Why did the gods smile at the end? 

 Answer: They smiled because humans learned an important lesson: the brightest light was their kindness and generosity with everyone else.