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The birth of an empire (Traditional Peruvian legend)

he Sun was very sad. Day after day, he offered his energy to the people, but there was a village in southern Peru that did not use it for anything at all. These people lived in caves, like savages, and the worst thing about it was that they didn’t even realise how much better their lives could be if they learnt how to use the sun’s rays. Tired of this situation, the Sun summoned his two sons and sent them off on an important mission: “My sons,” he said, “I’m going to send you to the shores of a lake in southern Peru and you will take with you a golden rod. When you reach the lake, you must walk in a straight line and only stop where the rod sinks into the ground. At this very spot, you will found a city and you will teach its inhabitants to use my energy. Over time, that city will become the origins of an entire civilisation.

The Sun’s two sons walked non-stop until they reached the place their father had said. Excitedly, they brought together all the people from the surrounding areas. With great patience, they taught them how to build houses, dress, cook, educate their children, use tools to cultivate the land and much more. And this is how the great empire of the Incas was born, as the Sun looked down on everything from heaven with a huge smile on his face.