*Guam fairy tales: Children of the Earth*

*Chaife was the God of the underworld. He controlled the wind, water and fire. He created souls, forging them from fire. He used the souls he created as slaves and tortured them endlessly. One day as Chaife hurriedly created a new soul, he made the fire too hot and it exploded. This allowed a soul to escaped to the Earth. In the Earth the soul became a rock surrounded by ocean water. Time passed, the rock became a man, the first Chamorro. He loved to live in the Earth but gradually, he felt lonely to live alone. Therefore, he took red clay and mixed it with water, and began to form human figures, both men and women. He gave the figures souls by heating them with the rays of the sun. His creation, the first people, he called, the “children of the earth. Meanwhile, Chaife regained the control everything after the explosion and counted all of the souls. He found out he lost one soul. He came to the Earth to find the soul. Seeing a child playing along the shore, Chaife believed he’s his lost soul. He made a wave to cover the child. The child turned into a fish and swam away. Chaife set a great fire underneath the lagoon and boiled all the water away. But the fish did not die. When there was no water remaining, the fish turned into a hilitai (monitor lizard) and disappeared into the woods. Chaife turned up the flames and set the jungle on fire. As the blaze roared, Chaife could not believe his eyes. Out of the ashes the hilitai transformed itself into a bird that flew away. Chaife’s anger grew into a raging typhoon. The typhoon dashed the bird against a cliff and broke its wing. But just as Chaife was about to pounce, the bird changed into a child. The child of the earth said to Chaife that he was not his lost soul, his soul came from the sun, Chaife couldn’t destroy him. Realizing he had no power to destroy the child or the Earth people Chaife continued searching the lost soul. But the lost soul already turned himself into the rock. That rock is believed to be in Fouha Bay near Humåtak (Umatac). After searching for a time, Chaife was disappointed and returned to his place.*