Up above the Earth, so high he seems only a speck, there sits the giant known as Ga-oh. If you could travel to his home, you would see he is enormous, larger than anyone can imagine. And it is this giant who rules the four winds that blow over the land.

Long ago, when the world was new and the winds had not yet been harnessed, Ga-oh sat deep in thought. He was wondering what he would do next. After a while, he decided he must find a way to control the winds, and so he called upon the animals he ruled.

First Ga-oh called to Bear, the largest and strongest of all the animals. Ga-oh knew what Bear's task would be.

The moment Bear heard his name, he hastened to obey Ga-oh's call, for Ga-oh was all-powerful, and all the creatures obeyed him. Bear lumbered across the forest and up into the sky, and as he did, his sharp claws scooped out great valleys and clefts, and he left his tracks across the clear night sky.

When Bear arrived, he bowed before Ga-oh.

"Bear," Ga-oh said, "because you are strong, you will control the north wind. It is the fiercest of all. With one blast, your wind will freeze rivers, and men will shiver at its touch."

Then Ga-oh slipped a leash around Bear's neck. "Go now, and you will come when I pull on your leash."

So Bear departed for the faraway north.

Then Ga-oh called to Fawn.

The moment Fawn heard Ga-oh's call, she lifted her head, twitched her ears and rose from her bed of ferns.

When she arrived before Ga-oh, he could smell the apple blossoms on her skin, and he smiled, for he understood how she would serve the land.

"Fawn, you will carry the wind from the south to the people," Ga-oh said, "and with it you will bring gentle breezes and refreshment." Then he slipped a silken rein over her slender neck. "Go now, and await my tug," he said.

Fawn traveled to the south.

Next Ga-oh called sleek Panther who, hearing Ga-oh's command, snarled and then leaped across the sky, speedy and lithe, tearing at the clouds with his sharpened claws. As he moved across the sky, those on Earth looked up, startled, for panther's shadow cast a cloud over the sun.

Panther stood before Ga-oh, eager and wild. Ga-oh nodded. "You, Panther, will be the guardian of the western winds. Whenever you bring the wind, you will bring uncertainty, all the wildness of storms." And with those words Ga-oh slipped a black leash over Panther's sinewy neck.

Panther bowed and set off for the wild west.

"Moose," Ga-oh called, "you are last, but I have not forgotten you."

Down below, Moose heard the call. He turned his thick body and crashed on heavy hooves through the brush. As he ran, he pounded the Earth and his antlers rustled first the leaves, then the clouds above as he rose into the sky, so that from down below, the people saw clouds rushing overhead, as if in a chase.

"Moose," Ga-oh said to him, "you will be the keeper of the east wind, and when I pull upon your rope, you will bring rain and fog, drizzle, damp and chill." And Ga-oh slipped a rope over Moose's muscular neck.

Then Ga-oh leaned back, holding each of the four leashes in his gigantic hand. "I will send whatever I wish to the people," he laughed, "and they will have to accept whatever comes."

Now everyone knows that Ga-oh is moody and impulsive. Sometimes he will tug upon Bear's leash and the north wind will come, spreading snow and sleet and ice, casting a coat of icy winter upon the land, and nothing they can do or say will stop Ga-oh.

Sometimes Moose plods across the sky, hauling with him the east wind and its dampness, its drizzle, its chill. And on those days when Ga-oh feels happy, he pulls on Fawn's silken cord, releasing the warm, steady southern wind.

And there is something else the people understand. Once in a great while, Ga-oh sits above the Earth in peace, and on those days, he does not pull anyone's leash. On those days the winds rest and the sun shines down without interference. And the people celebrate the stillness and calm.