Week 13: Ursa Minor

There once lived a great bear king named Urso who lived and loved greatly. Bar loved so deeply that he had two wives, one named Ursala and the other named Orsa. Each of his wives gave birth to a son; Ursala's named her son Ursulito, and Orsa named her son Borso.
Now legend has it that Ursula was a bear of infinite wisdom and wit but was not pleasant to look at, while Orsa had enough beauty to make up for what Ursula lacked. Unfortunately all of the bears in the kingdom would run away in disgust when they laid eyes on Ursula and even her son Ursulito, for he took after his mother and also lacked the looks. Although Ursala did not receive much attention from her towns bears she was content, all she needed was the attention and affection of her husband.
Over the years, Urso began to give more and more attention to Ursula as they continued to grow in their relationship. Urso and Ursala's relationship grew stronger each day and so did Ursa's relationship with his son Ursulito. Orsa grew more and more jealous of the time that HER husband, Urso, was spending with the hideous wife and the hideous child.
One day Orsa had seen enough and plotted a way to rid the kingdom of Ursulito for she knew that he stood a great chance at inheriting the kingdom. Her plot was quick and deadly, as deadly as a Black Mamba.
Jealous Orsa had returned back from a stay with family in a nearby province, and with her she brought gifts. She gave each of the family members' their gift and quietly waited for her gift to take its course.
Once back to his room, gladly and expiedtly Ursulito opened his gift that he had received from Orsa. In the basket he saw a snake who hissed fiercely. Immediately, Ursulito dropped the snake and ran away but the snake continued to follow him. As the child ran the snake seemed to continue to gain on him, until the snake was finally able to catch up.
The snake hissed at Ursulito, "dear boy, you must not be afraid. I am sent here to protect you from your evil stepmother. Orsa thought that when she bought me I was a venomous snake who could kill you but I am the opposite and I will lead you to safety, but you must trust me and follow me."
And so, Ursulito and the snake began their long journey and headed away from the kingdom. For many years Ursulito continued on this journey until he caught word that his brother was killed in battle and that his father had passed. The snake, who had been his companion this entire time urged Ursulito to return to the kingdom and pick up rule, and so he did.
Once Ursulito arrived back to his home kingdom, he was told the stories of how great his father was and that in his honor they named a group of stars after him, they called it Ursa Major.
Ursulito continued to rule the kingdom and all people who lived under his rule were happy. Many years passed and Ursulito became ill, the doctors worked diligently to save him but he finally was not longer able to continue on.
The towns bears wanted to honor Ursulito in a way that they had honored his dear father and so they named the constellation nearby to Ursa Major... they named it Ursa Minor.

 The constellation, Ursa Major

Authors Note:
This story has been adapted from the original story called the Tale of the Pole Star by C.A. Kincaid, found in his book titled "Tales from the Indian Epics". The original story told by Kincaid is about a king, his 2 wives and their sons. One wife is far more gorgeous than the other and her son took after her, the other wife had a better personality and her son took after her. One day one of his wives grew jealous of the other's son and pushed him down. When the child asked his mother what to do she told him to retreat to the forest and pray to Krishna, and so he did. Krishna finally appeared to him after many years and told him to return. After his arrival his brother died and his father eventually did too, he took up rule. Many years passed under his rule which was a fair rule, but he longed to worship and be with Krishna. The king gave up his kingdom and pursued Krishna until he arrived at a path that continued above ground. Along the way he met 7 sages who watched him continue his journey and eventually until he found Krishna. Once he found Krishna he was turned into a star and the 7 sages were also turned into stars. The constellation was called the Seven Sages Constellation in Indian culture and the Great Bear in western culture. Ursa Minor represents the Great Bear or the Seven Sages Constellation.