Translations taken from the Munchkin Iejakamene (Ancient pictograms on Faulker Mountain marble), and the Boghe af Menneskhe (mid-to-late Second Era), which appears to be a moderately faithful transcription of the verses - some of the names are taken from oral tradition; the original pictograms where these substitutions are made are more accurately associated with emotional content than precise language.

Translation completed July 17th.
Ambrose Goldstraw.



In the time before dreaming, the Universe was empty and dark, and the only thing that existed in the darkness was a Thought. And the Thought was

                                                           BE

And, for a time, this was the way of things.




The Thought acknowledged no past, for it did not know how it had come to BE.

The Thought had no apprehension of a future, beyond that it would always BE.

But that which exists strives for change and, in the vast and measureless NOW, the Thought found that it was no longer BE but

                                                        BECOME.




So the Thought split itself in two parts, and these were UMAII and GEWEN, which we call the Suns, and their natures were Protect and Make.

(Difficult to give a precise translation; 'Umaii' translates as 'protect/enfold/provide/cherish/nurture/love/give sustenance to' while 'Gewen' can be interpreted as 'make/sing/new/catalyst/change/create/animate/breathe life into' - all of this depends on precise context. AG.)

And the love between them was the first love, and from this love the world was born, which is an egg.

In the warmth of their love, the world hatched open and the children of the Thoughts, which were IDEAS, came forth to cover its surface.

And these were the first birds.




(This next in reference to a stylised series of what may be contour lines that correspond very roughly to the deepest of the Great Canyons in the South - topographical changes are inevitable, given the timescale. AG.)

This is the place where the world cracked  open and every living thing came into the light of UMAII and GEWEN, where they learned to rejoice.

And between the days, when LEVABA spread her dark wings, they learned to sorrow.

And, for a time, this was the way of things.




Then, there were some among the IDEAS that changed.

Some longed to return to the egg, and these sank into the waters of the egg or burrowed into the depths of the shell, or clung to the surface, and these gave up their feathers for scales or fur and they became fish in the seas and beasts of the ground.

Some of the IDEAS grew and learned, and the weight of their knowledge meant that they could no longer fly, and these became the first MEN.

And, for a time, this was the way of things.




The first Men called themselves the People (Menneskhe/Menschen - Munchkins) and they lived as the birds lived. The Great Forests were their homes and they adorned themselves with bright feathers. They ate of sweet fruits and nectar of the hive and their greatest joy was the making of music and artful rhymes to delight the Suns.

In this way, the People thrived. But then came the Whisperers in the Dark, and there grew a discontent and a division amongst the People.

Some grew warlike and proud, some longed to leave the forests and become masters of the Openland or of the IDEA within themselves. They were the Wishers (Wunscher/Winksche). The Wishers cast aside their feathers and they grew tall and strange and sang no more.

Some came to share their IDEA between themselves. But soon they came to feel too much, lost inside the IDEA of so many. They took themselves away to the Black Wall, and wore the guise of the Lion and of the Wolf, and we called them the Children of the Cold Lands (Kalten kin/Qualdkin).

The Last Men did not keep to the Forests. Nor did they take mastery over steel and soil. Nor did they go to the mountains and take the form of Beasts.

The Last Men are wrapped in LEVABA's darkness, and disappeared into the Whirling Winds. Some said they were cursed, and were banished into the Underland. But most sang a story that the Last Men pleased the Suns with a Perfect Song, and were taken into the sky by UMAII and GEWEN, and for this reason they are called the Happiest Children (Glucklichsten kin/Glikschekin) for their good fortune.

And that is the way of things.