Long ago there lived a family. Among them were young people, old people and some people in the middle. The family needed food to eat, water to drink and medicine for those among them who were ill. They gathered these things from the bush surrounding where they lived. It wasn’t easy to find food, water and medicine in the bush. Fortunately the family possessed a special gift that helped them. They could speak to birds. And there was one bird in particular that helped the family find what they needed. It was a large white bird with great wings called White Bellied Sea Eagle.
White Bellied Sea Eagle could see very well and fly very far. He would fly all the way to the ocean in the east and the mountains in the west. Then he would visit the family and tell them where to find what they needed. In this way the family survived for thousands of years.
But over time, for different reasons, the family forgot how to speak to birds. They grew hungry and thirsty and many of them became ill. Some even died. Though the White Bellied Sea Eagle continued to visit, and continues to visit to this day, the family were unable to receive his message.
One among them had an idea. In the time during which the family had forgotten how to speak to birds, they had learned other things. They had learned to draw. Perhaps they could ask the White Bellied Sea Eagle to draw its message. So the next time he visited, they handed the bird a piece of chalk. This is what it drew.
In the centre it drew a circle of small arches. These were the young people. Around that it drew some bigger arches. These were the old people and people in the middle. Around them it drew some of the different trees, shrubs, stones and the homes of some animals. It drew water, food and medicine. Then from the centre it drew pathways showing the family which way to go. Around everything the White Bellied Sea Eagle drew a boundary. It marked the border between the known and the unknown.
In this way the family were able to receive the message. They were able to find food, water and medicine for those among them who were ill.
One day a young girl decided to go on an adventure. She left the centre circle and wandered past the trees, shrubs and stones. Past the homes of some of the animals. She wandered past the food, water and medicine, past the boundary of what was known. Now she was in the unknown.
Suddenly the weather changed. Great clouds filled the sky and changed the colours of the bush. The young girl looked around but no longer did she know where she was. The air became cold and rain started to fall. The girl was scared and lonely. She cried out.
Suddenly she remembered the story of the White Bellied Sea Eagle. She remembered the message it had drawn. But she didn’t have any chalk. So she cleared a space on the ground. She used a small stone to mark the centre. She used sticks for the young people, old people and those in the middle. She used leaves to mark the trees and shrubs and rocks to mark the stones. She added food, water and medicine. Then she used a stick to draw a path from the centre, beyond the trees and shrubs, beyond the food, water and medicine. She continued the path beyond the boundary, all the way to where she was now standing. And at that moment, the young girl knew the way home.
When she arrived her family was waiting for her. She told them what had happened. She told them how she had remembered the message and used it to save herself. Upon hearing this the family rejoiced, for they new that the message of the White Bellied Sea Eagle had survived another generation. And that is a cause for celebration.