Raven was a greedy trickster. He was always trying to trick others into giving him their shiny, sparkly things. In those days, the Northern Lights appeared every night. One night, when all the birds were admiring the beautiful Northern Lights, greedy, selfish Raven had a horrible idea. That night, after the other birds had gone to sleep, Raven captured the Northern Lights and put them in a jar. He hid them in his nest so only he could admire their beauty.

When the other birds found out what Raven had done, they were angry!

"We must rescue the Northern Lights from that greedy trickster!" they cried. They made a plan.

Their three strongest and swiftest birds, the eagle, the hawk and the falcon, tried to take the Northern Lights back, but Raven expected them and was able to outsmart them. The birds were sadder than ever.

Then humble Peacock spoke up, "Let me try."

The birds were astonished. Peacock, like his wife Peahen, could barely fly. He could only leap from branch to branch. He was a dull gray-brown and did not seem to have any special qualities. The birds were out of ideas and said, "Go ahead and try."

That night, when Raven was gone, Peacock hopped up into his nest. He snatched the jar, and just as he was leaving, hopping from branch to branch, he dropped the jar, breaking it. All the Northern Lights spilled out and spread out like a bright curtain against the night sky. The bright colors also splattered all over Peacock, making him all the beautiful colors of the Northern Lights.

From then on, all Peacock's male descendants will wear the colors of the Northern Lights. And, now the Northern Lights only appear once in awhile, to prevent Raven from stealing them again.