MAYA

Four gods sat on their thrones, watching over the world below. The yellow lord suggested to his peers that they create a man to enjoy earth and give praise to the gods, and his peers agreed.

The yellow god took some yellow clay and created a man from it. He found the creation weak, as it dissolved in water and couldn't stand upright. The red god offered up the idea of creating man from wood, and the others thought it was a good idea too. The red god took a branch from a tree and carved from it a human figure. It could stand upright, and floated in water, but unfortunately it burned when put in fire.

So the gods tried again, this time using gold to make a man (the black god's suggestion). The gold man was attractive and shone brightly. He survived water and fire and was even more attractive after the two tests. He was, however, stiff and solid, cold and unable to speak, but the gods left him on earth anyway.

Finally, the fourth god made an attempt at it. He was the colourless god, and he tried to make a man out of his own flesh. He chopped off his fingers from his left hand and they fell to the earth. The four gods found it difficult to see what the men looked like, as the earth was so far below them.

The men worshipped the gods and made offerings. The four lords were made incredibly happy. The men of flesh eventually found the man of gold and found he was very cold when they touched him. He did not respond when they spoke to him. The kindness of the men of flesh poured into the man of gold, so that he came to life and offered thanks to the gods for the kindness of the other men.

The four gods woke up at the word from the previously silent man. They called him "rich", and the men of flesh "poor", and decided that the rich should take care of the poor. On judgement day, the rich will be judged on how good he was to the poor; how well they took care of them. From then on, rich men were only permitted into heaven if they were brought there by a poor man.