“According to the Dreaming, the sky was once so close to the ground that trees could not grow, people had to crawl, and all the birds were forced to walk everywhere. The days were dark and cold and one day the magpies decided to end this undesirable situation … they went to the higher hills, took a long stick in their beaks, and kept pushing the sky higher and higher, until they reached the highest mountain in the whole land. Then, with a special heave, they gave the sky one last push! The sky shot up in the air, and as it rose it split open and a huge flood of warmth and light poured through onto the land below. The animals wondered at the light and warmth, but more at the incredible brightly painted beauty of the Sun-Woman. The whole sky was awash with beautiful reds and yellows. It was the first sunrise. So that is why, according to this Dreaming, every morning when the Sun-Woman wakes and lights her early morning fire, to this day all the magpies greet her with their beautiful song, (and) perhaps to remind everyone else of their important role in holding up the sky.”

This is an enchanting story about the Australian Magpie in Aboriginal Dreaming and the creation of daylight … for it was the clever magpie that raised the sky and helped emus to straighten their necks, kangaroos to hop and wombats to leave their burrows.