How the Aurora Borealis Came To Be

The sky was a dark shade of grey, and lightning darted across, leaving only a trace of jagged smoke. Aurora, a young goddess, sat on her cloud beside her mother, staring out into the infinite sky before her. When the storm let up, the sun peered through a passing cloud.

“Go on, Aurora,” her mother motioned toward Aurora’s paintbrushes, lying among various colored paints and watercolors.

Aurora muttered as she walked in frustration to the mess. It was Aurora’s job to paint the color in the sky, such as the streaks of yellow in a sunrise or the deep tones of red during a sunset. Today’s job: a rainbow.

She loved creating the magnificent ombre scenes that all mortals looked up to, but the only problem was, none of her paintings lasted. A rainbow always faded, and the sunrise and sunset lasted a short amount of time. Aurora longed for a vibrant canvas that wouldn’t allow her colors to fade.

“Sunrise, Aurora. The sky needs a deeper shade, Aurora,” her mother pestered her, but she knew the illustration would not last.

When Aurora turned sixteen, she decided that she must find a way to make a painting last. She longed for a scene so majestic that people would always be able to picture it in their heads, and most importantly, realize the elegance in color.

Setting out, she searched high and low but it seemed that she would never find a fitting place. Then, she found a dark star-filled sky, cascading over snow and fir trees. These mountainous peaks of white powder jutted out into the sky, like ocean waves.

“This is the place.” She smiled, pulling out her most delicate paints and brushes. She dipped her paintbrush in a lime-green tone, then into a pastel purple, streaking the colors across the night sky. The bands of colors glinted and shone, dancing across the sky in a sparkling palette of colors, creating what is now the Aurora Borealis.