Why dandelions grow (abridged)/ As beárnan gidge raired
The old ones say that during the great flood, the Mincéirí, in fear, had prayed and willed away the clouds, so there came a great drought when the sun shone ceaselessly and no rain fell, when the skies themselves were emptied and the sun stood fixed in place as their ruler.
At first the skies had resisted the banishing of the clouds, understanding the cycle of the weather and how it has its mark on the passing of each day, but so great was the fear of the great flood that nature herself withdrew the clouds and the rain for the sake of the Mincéirí.
In the beginning, the dry days and crisp nights brought only joy, the warm sweet morning air woke people with a softness and the evenings often saw children playing by streams and ponds. The old would rest under the shade of the hazel trees and songs were the common company of the slow-moving winds.
As time went on, however, people grew weary, dreary, dusty and dry. Animals became ill, plants started to shrivel and even the birds refused the winds, preferring to walk on the earth in search of what food remained.
The drought continued until one day a beautiful young lackeen named Brid called to the sun in search of an answer. She knew the land. She knew the plants, the trees, the weary rivers and how the fiery sun was slowly quenching the flames of those she loved. But the sun, the sun did not reply.
The young girl, distraught, fell to the ground and cried, So great were her wails of loss that the star and the moon looked upon her and wept. The sun, on hearing their cries, finally turned towards Bríd. The young lackeen, in desperation and tiredness, but with a depth of wit and a strength rare in a child of her age, pleaded with the sun to rest. She spoke of life with its relentless presence, of the cracking lands and withering animals, of the river beds that looked like deep, carved scars upon the soil, of red sun-flamed flesh and world that knew so much disorder. She spoke of the need for rhythm, of the folly of her people who in fear had driven away the natural movement of the sun.
The sun spoke in a booming voice, loud enough to shake the crumpled leaves that remained on the trees and for the cracked soil to give up a thick layer of dust as if the land itself was breathing. The sun explained that it was the people who had banished the clouds, who had implored it to shine without resting, so on it would shine.
Her body exhausted from the trials of her journey and her spirit as brittle as the withered leaves, this last denial was a wound she could not recover from. With a whimper, she fell back against the ground, and there the young lackeen died.
The sun looked down on her broken frame and was stirred in a great sorrow for her, for her journey, for her half-lived life, and for her death. It shed tears that fell and mixed with the tears of the star and the moon, who too did mourn for her. Their tears fell to the earth and sank deep into the thirsty soil.
Knowing their part in what had happened, the sun, star and moon gathered in the sky. Each promised the young lackeen that they would never forget her.
Eventually from those fallen tears grew a plant, blessed in the light of the sun, star and moon, and took unto it their shapes and forms.
Among its many names is dandelion.
Even to this day, the dandelion remains embodied with the fiery force of the sun, moon and star and it grants the easy flow of water to those who drink it in a tea. If you look closely at the dandelion you will see that it resembles the sun when it is in flower, the moon when it is in seed, and the star is in the leaves that grow about its base. If you are lucky and pick it carefully from the ground with a song, you might find that the roots are in the form of the young lackeen.
To read the entirety of this story, and many others, check out Why the moon travels by Oein DeBhairduin
