Bamapama’s New Dream

Long ago, during a period known as Dreamtime, there was a man named Bamapama. People thought he was a bit strange. The sun stayed in one location all day, making it extremely hot for Bamapama and everyone who lived underground.

One day, Bamapama decided to come up to the surface of the earth. “I’ll go hunting,” he said. When he got there, he saw a big kangaroo. Bamapama tried to catch it with his spear, but it hopped away too fast.

The kangaroo went west, and Bamapama followed. The day went on, and the sun started going down. Bamapama caught up to the kangaroo, but just as he was about to throw his spear, the sun disappeared. It became dark.

Bamapama had never seen the night before. Where he came from, it was always bright. He got scared and started to cry. He climbed a tall tree, hoping to find light up there, but it was dark even in the tree. So he climbed down and fell asleep.

When Bamapama woke up, it was morning, and the sky was bright again. He felt happy and said, “Sleep at night and wake up with the sun. This is a good way to live.”

Bamapama went back home, and everyone wanted to know where he had been. He told them all about chasing the kangaroo, the sun going down, and how it became light again when he woke up. “It’s different up there, but it’s better. Come and see,” he said.

The people agreed, and Bamapama directed them to the surface of the earth. When darkness came, they got scared, just like Bamapama had. They rushed to climb the tallest trees. But Bamapama called out, “Don’t be afraid! Everything will be okay!” So they came down and slept.

The sun rose the next morning, and the people felt the warm rays. They said, “Crazy Bamapama was right. This is much better than living underground, where it’s always hot. Here, if we get cold, we can find wood in the trees and make a fire. Let’s stay.”

So, Bamapama and all the people chose to live with the kangaroos in this new place on earth, where day and night took turns and life was good.