In Norse Mythology, Odin is the leader of the Aesir.  The Aesir are the Norse gods and goddesses and their home is Asgard.  His daughter is named Garde, the goddess of colors.  Garde’s friend is Symphonia, the goddess of music.         

 In the forest one day, Garde was making a surprise present for her father’s birthday.  She gathered the prettiest of the prettiest colors and mixed them into a colorful paste.  She got the finest shades from little animals; they would run up to a plant or flower and scrape off the colors.  She had acquired so bright a red that when you looked at it, you couldn’t see anything.  When you looked at her dazzling yellow, you would think that even the sun goddess, Solaris, would have to shade her eyes.  Such a bold blue and a warm green she had in this marvelous paste that the sky and nature were envious of the colors.  The final color her furry friends found her was a striking purple.  With these colors, she was going to sculpt an eight- legged steed; which was her father’s favorite animal. 

Garde was almost done, so she took it with her on a walk with Symphonia because she wanted to finish it with more ideas from outside treasures.  Garde thought that she would get at least some inspirations from the lovely river bank.  It was a very beautiful place; there were colorful flowers of all kinds on the rim of the grassy walkway.  It had rained, and every thing was washed and clear.   Symphonia, because she was all high- and- mighty that day suddenly said, “I think that music is better than colors, don’t you?” 

When Garde calmly refused to agree, Symphonia stubbornly yelled, “Well, you think that, do you?!  Let me prove that songs and music are better than plain old colors!” 

With that, she furiously took the mixture of colors from Garde’s hands and tried to throw it down to Midgard; the Earth.  She was so mad that you could really hear her teeth gritting.  Her goal was to spoil Garde’s reputation; so she would be hated.  But Garde swiftly swooped down before it landed, quickly stopped it, and threw it in the opposite direction.  It happened after a rain had fallen, so Garde called it a rainbow. 

While the Aesir were marveling over the beautiful rainbow, Symphonia sulkily slunk away.  They even thought this was as pretty as polished gold!  No one noticed her because they were too entranced, and when Odin saw the gleaming lines of all colors, his face turned red with pride for Garde.  He loved it so much that he said to Garde, “O daughter, why don’t you brighten the skies with these lovely colors after gloomy rains fall? I love this rainbow and it will cheer me up!”

“It would be my pleasure!” said Garde, flattered.  

So now, after the dark rains fell, Garde always lit the heavens up with her pretty creation.  But Symphonia and Garde were worst enemies from then on.