SHORT STORY

Voice

Long ago, the sky was very low. It was so low that people could touch it if they raised their hands. At the horizon, where the sky nearly touched the earth, was a village. Here lived an old woman all by herself. All day long she was busy with her household chores. Cleaning her utensils, scrubbing the floor, and dusting her courtyard.

One day, she saw that her courtyard was very dirty. So she picked up her broomstick to clean it. She swept the ground so fast and so hard that it raised a storm of dust. In a minute, her house and the entire village became covered with dust and when it reached the sky, it started coughing. The poor sky nearly choked as the woman continued sweeping the ground. Suddenly the sky ‘Sneezed. It was such a thunderous sneeze that the whole village shook! People ran helter-skelter, scared that the sky might fall. But the old woman kept sweeping oblivious of what was happening.

After a while, it became so unbearable for the sky that he started crying helplessly. Huge teardrops fell on the earth. It made the courtyard muddy. Now this was too much for the woman to bear. She raised her broomstick and whacked the sky, “Get lost you wet blanket!” she yelled. The sky was so scared that he moved higher and higher and swore never to come down again.

Why the Sky Is So High, 4.0 out of 5 based on 48 ratings