Elders told the story to their grandchildren: “When all was in darkness, when the sun had not yet shone and the dawn had not yet broken, the gods gathered and spoke among themselves.” The divinities asked for a volunteer from the few humans and animals creeping about in the darkness. They needed someone to immolate himself and thus bring forth a new dawn. A man who was very full of himself stepped forward and said he would do it. “Who else?” the gods asked, but their question was met with silence. “None dared, no one else came forward.” The gods called on a quiet man who sat listening. His
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