the creation of the first teacher

The bell rang. The students shuffled into their history class. Mr. Smart, their very old history teacher, told them the legend of the creation of the first teacher.

Long ago, Horse was still making the world. She made the sky, the sun, the moon, the stars, the animals, the trees and the lakes. She created Dog, Pig, Dung Beetle, and Human. Human was really stupid and Horse despised that.

“What to do? Thought Horse, I know! I shall create a human that is very smart to teach Human. I shall call this human Teacher.”

Dog suggested: “He should have fur so that he is always warm.” “Fur like yours?” asked Horse. “Yes. With spots too.” replied Dog. “No. Said Horse, He should resemble Human not you.”

Pig recommended: “He should have pointed ears so he can hear easily.” “Ears like yours?” asked Horse. “Yes. And they should be pink.” confirmed Pig. “No. said Horse, like I said to Dog, he shall resemble Human not you.”

Dung Beetle said: “He should teach Human about dung.” “Because you like the subject of dung?” asked Horse. “Of course! Why else would I be called Dung Beetle?” replied Dung Beetle. “No. He shall be a human not a Dung Beetle said Horse, and he will only teach about Important Stuff and Information You Need In To Know and dung is not one of them.”

The animals started to dispute between each other until Horse cried: “Enough! I have an idea. Why don’t you all create your idea of Teacher? You shall make him using clay. You must give him an intelligence like no other. Tomorrow, I shall pick the best creation.”

Dog, Pig, and Dung Beetle all agreed. They worked until late night. When they were finished, they went to sleep. Unbeknownst to them, while they were sleeping, Horse fetched some water and poured the water on the creations. The next morning, the animals woke up and saw in front of their eyes, the first teacher.

As Mr. Smart finished, the bell for next period rang. Every student rose to leave for their next class. Faraway in the plains, a horse whinnied. Unknown to everyone in the school, Mr. Smart heard it and when he did, he smiled.

by Yinki and Appaloosa