Why the Eagle Flies Closest to the Sun

The Eagle was the only bird strong enough to carry messages for the great Orisha, Shango. One year, the Sun grew angry with the Earth and began to burn it with a terrible heat. The crops withered and the rivers dried up. The people and animals were dying. All the other birds tried to fly up to the Sun to plead for mercy, but the heat was too intense, and they were all driven back. The Eagle, seeing the suffering below, knew he had to try. He gathered all his strength and began to fly higher than any bird had ever flown before. The heat scorched his feathers, but he did not turn back. He flew right up to the face of the Sun and delivered the people's plea. The Sun, who had been lonely, was so impressed by the Eagle's courage and loyalty to the creatures below that its heart was softened. The Sun agreed to lessen its heat. The Eagle returned to Earth, his feathers scorched brown but his people saved. This is why the Eagle can fly higher than all other birds, and why it is not afraid of the Sun—it earned that right through its great sacrifice.