One day the children of the People came to Abba Arl and asked, "Who are our parents?" Abba Arl replied, "The People have not two parents but four, and they are as follows. The great Dragon of Time, who set the stars in their courses and appointed the guardians to watch over the world. The Mother Serpent in the curve of whose back the world rests. The Fat Mother who nourished the People when they were lost and starving. And the Ox who bears the People on his back to their final rest. Many tales tell the story of the four parents." And this is the tale Abba Arl told.