Book of the One - The Seasons

Amongst the stories told of the Old World, it’s quite clear that tales of trickery and success are the most popular, and many of the stories told on Alterra have a strong focus on such matters. There are many stories of how the Seasons came to be, and many have been published over the years, but this is the one accepted by the One Faith, as it features their central figure quite prominently. This version was taken from the Gold Anniversary publishing of “Old Father Bindlestein’s Fairy Tales and Fables”, adapted from the tale as told in the Book of the One, and is perhaps the most entertaining and widely-told version.

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Long ago, when the world was new and the Great Dragon was having his long sleep, the days were almost always the same. It was never too cloudy or bright, not too warm or cold. There was always just enough rain to grow crops in, and never enough frost or snow that would bother the animals or people. But there were no seasons as there are now – no Times of Plenty or Times of Hardship, and no festivals in their honour. And this is the story of how they came to be.

In the Old Days, there lived four great spirits – siblings, born from the Earth herself. Their names were Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, and they were very different from one another. Spring was a fair satyr, lovely to look at, and wherever she walked flowers bloomed and birds sang. Summer was a mighty Long Dragon, for in those days they were more common than they are now, and the skies burned bright and hot when he flew. Autumn was a beak-nosed goblin, thin as a stick but very cunning, and his touch turned the leaves red and swelled the fruit on their branches. Winter was a Direwulf, with sharp teeth and cruel eyes, and the ground turned to frost wherever he laid his paws. All four of them were very powerful, but where Spring was kind and meek, her brothers were arrogant, proud and vain.

Now, it often happened that the four siblings would meet together, to talk and pass the news as family do. And as will happen with siblings, they often fell to quarrelling amongst each other about something or other, each shouting out his case and not giving the other a chance to reply. Winter, Summer and Autumn would argue the loudest, and whenever Spring spoke it was always when everyone else had run out of things to say. And the thing they often quarrelled about the most was about how strong they believed themselves to be.

“I am clearly the greatest,” Winter would snarl, showing his teeth. “Wherever I walk the snows and hail fall, and the people hide in their houses in fear of me. And they bring their children indoors as well, for they fear that I shall snatch them up and eat them.”

“No!” Autumn would reply, hopping up and down on the spot. “I’m the best of all of us! It is thanks to me that the fruit ripens and the harvest grows tall and strong! Without me, the people would have nothing to eat and therefore starve to death!”

“You are both wrong!” Summer would roar, rising to his full height. “Wherever I fly, the grass shrivels and dies, and the people take to the shade to avoid my heat. They know to respect me and not to invoke my anger, and that makes me the greatest!”

And Spring would say, in her small voice, “Think of me. I bring life to wherever I go, for the birds and the beasts all praise me whenever they give birth to strong children. Is it wrong that I do not rule with fear or greed, but kindness?”

But the other three would mock her and tell her to be quiet, for they did not think much of her, being so small and not as strong as they were. She was considered the least of them, and was therefore not allowed to speak much. And the quarrel would go on for hours, with neither side winning or losing, until the four were obliged to depart from the place, very sore with each other. For as much as they argued, the four would never come to blows, because they were scared that their power would destroy the land on which they lived.

On one particular day, the One was walking in the fields and admiring the trees and animals around him when he heard raised voices, not far off. Curious, he turned off the path he was following and pushed his way through the tall grass to find the source of the noises, and soon came to a hill in the middle of the field, where no plants grew. And on the top of this hill he found the Four Siblings, arguing with each other as usual, and the anger in the voices of Summer, Autumn and Winter was much apparent, whilst Spring stood silently and sadly.

“Well!” said the One. “Do they not learn anything at all, these prideful spirits of Earth? For days and days they argue, disturbing humans and people alike, and yet not one of them can agree on anything! It’s in my mind to find out the cause of this, and perhaps teach them a little humility.”

And so saying, he took out his grey robe that he kept on himself, and he put it on and became the Wise, like an old man in appearance. Dressed like this, so that the spirits wouldn’t recognise him, he climbed his way up the hill until he got to the top, where the four were. And as he approached them, meaning to speak with them, they all stopped arguing at once and turned to face him. You see, no human or animal had ever interrupted their talks until now, for they mostly feared the spirits and kept well out of their way, so this was a surprise to them.

“How now, Spirits of Earth!” called the Wise, and his voice was like the creaking of boughs in the wind. “For what reason do you hold council in this fair glade today?”

“This is no council, old man,” snarled Winter, showing his teeth. “This underfed stick” (and by this he meant Autumn) “has dared to call me a greedy beast, for I take all young animals that perish in my cold.”

“Underfed stick!” howled Autumn. “Why, I merely provide for the people, and it is by my will that they feed well! Better a stick than an overgrown lizard” (and by this he meant Summer) “who burns his food before he eats it!”

“Fine talk indeed!” roared Summer. “Were it not for my sun, nothing of yours would grow at all, and your precious people would starve! You should be grateful that I bestow that honour upon you and not to the flea-ridden carpet over there!” (and by this he meant Winter)

And that started the argument all over again, of course. The Wise listened to one, than the other, but could not make out much of the argument, for they were shouting very loudly over each other and could barely be heard. But he was not called the Wise for nothing, and soon deduced that each of the Spirits held themselves in higher regard, and were arguing over who held the more worth in the world because of what they did. And he chuckled to himself, for none of them realised that he was the One, who was far more powerful than any one of them.

He presently noticed that Spring had not said a word, merely standing still and looking very sad indeed throughout the whole thing. Wondering why this would be so, the Wise spoke up again and said “What about you, Daughter of Earth? Have you nothing to say on this matter, that your brothers are so invested in?”

“She says nothing,” retorted the other three. “She is the weakest of us all, and her words have no value.”

But Spring spoke up, and said “It is true, Wise Man, that I am not as strong or mighty as my brothers. But I am content with that, and am merely happy to have the friends I have, and to have the people be thankful for my cooling rain and my beautiful flowers. If strength is measured by power, fear or cruelty as my brothers claim, then it is small wonder that I choose to be the weakest, for better to be humble in my weakness than vain, prideful or cruel in strength.”

The other three, when they heard this, were very angry indeed. This was the first time their sister had said an unkind word to them or about them, and it made them boil that she would consider her own brothers, who were more powerful than her, in such a way. Almost immediately they turned to her, and for a moment it looked as though they would tear the poor thing to pieces! Summer reared up, looking to burn the flesh from her bones; Autumn grabbed a heavy branch, meaning to bash her head in, and Winter opened his jaws as if to tear out her throat.

“Stop!” commanded the Wise, and his voice was so loud the Spirits almost jumped out of their skins.

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The four dashed with all their might across the fields, and soon it became clear among them who was the fastest. Summer was in first, moving quickly across the ground with his long body, and his lack of wings didn’t seem to bother him. Behind him was Autumn, his long legs allowing him to keep pace with his brother, springing like a jackrabbit across the ground. Next came Winter, his loping strides cracking stones beneath his paws, breaking the grass as he ran. And finally came Spring, whose dainty hooves let her skip across the grass without harming a blade of it. But she was not the fastest of them at all, and despaired upon seeing how her brothers were already far ahead of her.

“Oh, dear!” she said to herself. “I shall never win this race!”

Across the fields they ran, and down the slope and soon they came to the Great River that flowed down from the mountains, as the Wise said they would. Man had not yet built a bridge across it, as he will in another story to tell, and it stretched for so many miles on either side that the Four Spirits saw at once they would have to swim across it. Summer stepped into the water first, followed by Autumn, who was followed by Winter and then Spring, and each one swam with all their might to get to the other side.

All four got halfway across the river, and it soon became apparent that Summer was going to reach the bank first. Being a strong swimmer, he had no trouble keeping ahead of the others, beating his tail from side to side as he swam. Autumn, Winter and Spring, who did not have strong tails like him, were having difficulty battling the current in the river, for they only had their legs and arms to help them along. And besides, the river was full of dead branches and bits of debris from upstream that Man carelessly threw away, so that the other three occasionally had to duck under the water lest they be swept away.

When Summer realised how far ahead he was he became very confident, and he turned his head around to jeer at the others.

“Look at me!” he called out. “I’m going to win the race! You haven’t a hope of catching me!”

But no sooner had he said this than – gulp! – he swallowed a mouthful of cold, cold water from the river. He coughed, spluttered and floundered in the water, and all his fire was put out, so all he could do was spit clouds of black smoke from his mouth and nose. Whilst this was happening Autumn managed to swim past him, and then Winter and Spring, until Summer was very soon in last place. And by the time he recovered and got out of the river, the others were already ahead, and he had to run very fast to try and catch up.

Spring now saw that she was in third, and her spirits began to lift. “I might be able to win this race,” she said to herself.

Up the slope on the opposite side they ran, and it wasn’t long before they came to the bramble patch that the Wise said they would get to. Like

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When Autumn realised how far ahead he was he became very confident, and he turned his head around to jeer at the others.

“Look at me!” he called out. “I’m going to win the race! You’ll be feasting in my honour tonight!”

But no sooner had he said this than – whoops! – he tripped over a root hidden in the undergrowth and fell right into the brambles. He shouted and kicked and struggled, and the brambles held him down and scratched him all in his face and arms, for they were very cross with him for ruining their clean beds. Whilst this was happening Winter managed to crawl past him, and then Spring and Summer, until Autumn was very soon in last place. And when he got out of the brambles his face was so scratched he looked completely different, and he was so ashamed of how he looked he was obliged to put a hollow pumpkin over his head as he ran to catch up.

Spring now saw that she was in second, and she began to feel more hopeful. “I think I can win this race,” she said to herself.

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When Winter realised how far ahead he was he became very confident, and he turned his head around to jeer at the others.

“Look at me!” he called out. “I’m going to win the race! You’d best lock your doors from now on!”

But no sooner had he said this than – thump! – he blundered right into Lord Stag, who was enjoying a walk through the woods that day. And Lord Stag was so cross with Winter that he hit him in the mouth with his antlers, and Winter’s front teeth were knocked out and fell down a rabbit’s hole, where they were never found again. Whilst this was happening Spring managed to run past him, and then Summer and Autumn, until Winter was very soon in last place. And when he got away from Lord Stag and saw how far behind he was he was very angry, and as he ran he muttered bad words that whistled through the gap in his teeth, so all the animals knew he was coming and hid. This is also how the wolves and the stags became enemies for ever afterwards.

Spring now saw that she was in first, and she was unbelievably happy. “I know I can win this race!” she cheered.

When the others heard this they grew very angry with Spring, for they did not believe she was going to win. And they began to run faster and faster to try and catch up with her, and they made such a terrific noise as they came through the forest that everyone in the forest heard it. Summer roared and tried to breath fire to burn Spring, but all that came from his mouth was smoke that rumbled with his voice. Autumn tried to call her bad names, but the pumpkin over his head muffled his voice so nobody could hear him. And Winter tried to sneak up on her, but his breath whistled in his teeth like a wind, so he couldn’t stay hidden if he tried. Some people even say the Great Dragon stirred in his sleep because of the noise, but nobody can say that for sure.

When Spring realised they were after her she became very frightened, and she shut her eyes tight in fear.

“Oh, no!” she cried to herself. “I’m not going to win the race! My own brothers will kill me first!”