The Sacrifice of the Rainbow Bird

From the Lenni Lenape

This story is from the early days of the world. Not the earliest days, when the world was first made, but a ways after that, by the time there were most of the things we have now, but not all of them, and when things that have since gone out of the world were still known. It was late enough that the Sun and the North Wind were already in place, and most of the stars, but early enough that the animals would still talk to the humans. Day had been separated from Night, and a regular succession of days had been taking place for long enough that everyone took it for granted, but Summer and Winter were new, and the newness of Winter is what led to the events of this story.