From Maria de Lourdes Victoria
Hanuman and the Orange sun is the re-telling of a story based on ancient Hindu lore, where Hanuman mistakes the sun for a giant mango. In this versión of the story the protagonist is Harini, a Telugo-American [sic] girl.
Harini is like any other girl; she loves chipmunks, sailboats and playing outside. One day she feels particularly hungry, and when she asks her mother for food – a lot of food – her mother sees the opportunity to tell her a story while they make lunch together. This is how Harini hears the story of Hanuman Dada for the first time, and how when he was a baby he too was very hungry, and when he saw the sun in the sky, thinking it was an orange, he jumped up, up, up, opened his mouth wide, wide, wide and CHOMP! he ate it all up!. The world became dark and the gods became angry. Indra, the king of Gods, lifted his vajra (lightening bolt) and threw it at poor Hanuman Dada and sent him back to earth with a BIG thud. His father, Vayu the Wind God, heard his son crying so he demanded an explanation. When no one answered, he decided to stop the winds and the whole earth became hot. The gods apologized to Hanuman Dada and brought him gifts. And he learned a valuable lesson, as did Harini with her mother’s story: If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything, but you must be thoughtful and use your strength well.