Of gods and owls

“Of gods and owls”

By Alberto Balderas Saucedo (A00822481) & Paulina García (A00516938) "So, how did it start?" asked the curious owl.

The sun was due to rise soon, but the owl still had some minutes to talk to the god who appeared every morning to wake up the sun and lift him to the sky.

 

For several months now, the owl, always being awake during the nighttime, had been talking to the god for a few seconds, or minutes even, if he came early to do his job. This didn't happen often, as the god was very lazy and at times showed up very late. It was funny for the owl to think that humans believed that the seasons were changing, when in fact, the god had just forgotten to set his alarm to wake up the sun.

 

"How did what start?" asked the god, yawning and stretching. "Well, the universe."

"Ah," said the god, scratching his head thoughtfully. "Well, the universe you know started a lot of time ago, when we decided that maybe life should be mortal but beauty immortal."

 

"I asked how, not when or why. Could you please tell me how the universe started?"

 

"You know, you are pretty curious, even for an owl. We made a pact to never reveal the secret of the universe, as it would send the whole animal world into a frenzy."

 

The owl bowed his head and thought for a moment, trying to figure out a way to get his answer and soon, since it was almost time for the sun to be awoken.

 

"But then what if all the gods were mysteriously to die and someone wanted to create a universe? Wouldn't you want someone to know how to continue the great legacy of the gods?"

 

"Well, uh, yes..." agreed the god hesitantly. "I do suppose you have a point." Smiling to himself, the owl then proceeded with another cunning question:

"You know owls are the wisest of all birds, right? We stay up during the night and observe the inner workings of the universe. Tell me, which other animal has ever seen a god, let alone talked to him, and lived to tell it?"

 

Scratching his head, the god answered dubiously, "We've got a code of honor, you see. We agreed that we'd never talk about how the universe was made with someone who was not a god. I can just tell you that in the beginning everyone was happy and everything was


understood, long before the questions and the philosophy came to exist. Our code of honor is a special question, though, I will tell you that much.”

 

“A question? Let me guess. How was the universe created?”

 

The god snapped his fingers and the owl was gone. They said curiosity killed the cat, or wait, was that in the previous universe he had created? He guessed that no matter what, a simple existence could not be achieved.

 

He sighed, happy that he'd have a whole day to sleep and make everything again during the following day.

 

Moral of the story: Curiosity killed the cat, or, don’t ask questions that will never have a logical answer.

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