There is a phenomenon in parts of rural Australia where it is reported that bright lights bounce across the road in the middle of the night. These lights have come to be known as Min Min lights.

In the Northwest part of New South Wales in Australia there is a road called the Nineteen-Mile Plain that runs from Brewarrina to Goodooga near the town of Boulia. Many people traveling this road have reported seeing what appear to be bright balls of light that look like car headlights. These lights disappear all of a sudden as you come closer to them, only to reappear and seemingly follow your car yet again as you continue down the road. Scientists attribute this phenomenon, not to alien life, but to cold, dense air that carries light across the horizon producing a mirage effect as discussed in this article.

The local aboriginals have a folk story that attributes the lights to the saga of little Dhundi and his brother. While camping one night, a great ball of fire appeared to Dhundi. Instead of being afraid he approached the ball of fire and saw that it was his missing brother. Ever since they have traveled together through the dark night skies. So when you see the balls of light you are reminded not to be afraid in the dark just as Dhundi wasn't when he went in search of his brother. Here is the full story as told in this collection:

"A LONGTIME AGO, in the Dreamtime, there were no stars in the sky. Everyone
in the tribe would sit around the fire all night. The children would look up with
wonder into the dreadful blackness overhead.

Mothers always warned their children never to run around after darkness
fell, because all sorts of cruel and ugly monsters were hiding behind bushes and stones. They were waiting to grab any little Wharoos who would wander beyond the light of the campfire. The most feared creature was the little Euree woman, who was lurking about, waiting to coax careless children away.

One little boy, whose name was Dhundi, used to lie awake at night and wonder
why the sky was so black. Dhundi thought that the Euree woman only wanted
naughty Wharoos, so he was always good.

One day, one of the elders of the tribe sent all the boys into the bush, with orders to stay for two days and one night. They were not to eat or drink anything at all until they returned to their goondis.

During the night, when the boys settled down, they snuggled close to each
other for warmth and fell asleep. A dreadful storm woke them up. Thunder and
lightning flashed all around. The boys were all very frightened.
“
It’s Wandah,” they whispered, huddling closer than ever. As the noise became
louder and louder, they shivered and clung together. No one dared look
up.

But unlike the others, one boy, Dhundi, wasn’t frightened. He got up. Looking
out into the darkness, Dhundi walked into the open space where all the noise
was coming from. He stood calling out, “I am Dhundi. I am not afraid.”

Suddenly, a big round ball of fire came down from the sky. Three times,
Dhundi called out, “I am not afraid! I am not afraid! I am not afraid!”

At that, the fireball opened. Inside there was a bright, glowing, red man
standing in front of him.

The red man said to Dhundi, “I am your brother. When I was your age, I was
coaxed away. And now, because you are very brave, I will show you how to put the stars in the sky and to light up the night.”

Dhundi, the brave boy, was never seen again.

That night, the Wirrigans danced with flaming torch sticks. The three
strongest warriors lit one end of their big boomerangs and threw them far up
into the black sky. Everyone looked on in awe as the boomerangs circled around and around, lighting up the dark sky, leaving behind a trail of sparks falling in all directions.

Everyone was so happy to see the sparkling stars light up the black sky. They
all watched, breathless, as the lighted boomerangs circled upward, hurtling far
out into the night sky.

The elders looked up and said, “The lighted boomerangs are still going
around and around in big circles! That is why the stars never stop in one place.”
Everyone was very sad that Dhundi, the boy who was so brave, had gone to
look for his brother, who must have been living in the big bright ball of light for
many years.

On a cold, dark night across the plains in this country, strange lights are often
seen.

The tribal elders from the Ngemba and Murrawarri tribes, whose country
borders this Nineteen-Mile Plain, used to say, “That’s Min Min—the Ghost Light,
which is only coming out at night, to cast an eerie light over the plains. It is
Dhundi and his brother, who live in the ball of fire.”"