Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-03-07
THE WOMAN IN THE MOON.
A DREAM.

A DREAM.
Prof. Skylight turned from the big
telescope. settled his glasses straight
on his nose and stared at the twenty
small boys who toed the chalk line on
the floor.
Owing he said in a learned tone
owing to reasons you will understand
when you are older. we never see but
one side of the moon!"
"Oh!" exclaimed all the little boys
They opened their eyes very round,
standing still and solemn as a row Of
owls. When they ran out again to play,
however, nineteen of them forgot the
moon altogether All except the twenti-
eth boy. who had the roundest eyes; he
pondered the thing in his heart.
He thought of it when he went to bed
that night; it troubled him so much that
he forgot to pull down the window shade.
So it came to pass that an idle moonbeam.
wandering alone. slipped in through the
window and fell across his face. Her light
bothered him; he moved his head on the
pillow.
You're quite unsociable." he heard, or
thought he heard. her say, especially
when I've come SO far to see you
Then he turned over feeling at once as
though very wide awake. Excuse me"
he said politely Che had been taught to
remember his manners under all circum-
stances). II should dearly love to talk
with moonbeam! Why, there are lots
of things you could tell me! Is there only
one man in the moon? Has he always
lived there? And is there anything on
the other sde?''
SSH Speak softly" warned his visitor.
THE Man in the Moon might hear you.
He hates to have any one talk of his his
tory
N.Y. exclaimed the little boy. then
how he must hate Prof Skylight!'
The moonbeam shifted bit. so she
might look into his eyes. You knew the
Man in the Moon had wife?" she asked
confidentially. The little boy sat up.
Did he?" He came near entirely for
getting her caution not to make any
noise. why where is she now?"
"She was one of you here on the earth"
the moonbeam went on hastily ''She was
a princess. and very"
Beautiful he interrupted. II know!
''Oh. no. far away. You couldn't have
known her-it was SO long ago."
How long?"
VERY, very long-before your grand
father was born. or his grandfather. No,
you couldn't possibly remember it, She
used to walk in the gardens at night and
make poetry about the stars She was
very fond of the stars. She wore one In
her hair. and the trail of her gown was
so hong that it took thirty little boys to
was on one glorious evening that the
man in the moon lost his heart"
But how did he tell her?'
DO watt" replied the moonbeam i'm
patiently Il was just coming to that.
He sent us down to WOO her. We were
very soft and silvery just then. He took
particular pains to polish u.s.
And they were married at night?"
They were! All, you never saw such
a night! The stars were all Frightened
for the occasion and the Milky Way
lit up for billion miles"
For the wedding procession"
Yes" she sighed bit sadly. "Only
there wasn't any! They got behind the
first dark cloud"
How provoking!1 said the little boy.
did they live happily ever after?"
mo. fndeed!' the moonbeam prompt
ly answered ut wasn't but a short
time after their marriage before she
began to remember a prince who had
played with her. when she was little,
on the earth. He was lonely, poor fell
low! He used to walk out every even
ing and look up at the princess. and she
would look down at him, then she be-
gan to send us down with messages,
and he to send messages back BY and
by the Man in the Moon found it out.
and then the very mountains shook
You've heard of the mountains in the
moon :.
Yes. indeed.' he replied, in great ex-
element; II know all about them. But
what happened neXt?"
The moonbeam trembled violently.
There came near being an eclipse" she
said: "a total eclipse! But you couldn't
possibly understand that The princess
made all sorts Of excuses, but the Man
in the Moon wouldn't hear. She cried to
go home to her mother, but he didn't let
her go. He banished her away to the
Other Side"-in an awed whisper-"the
Other Side Of the Moon! That's the rea-
son you don't see it, She can never look
on the earth again, for her face is al
WAYS turned the other way"
Must she stay there forever"
Forever and ever and ever"
What a PITY" sighed the little boy.
What was her name?"
"The woman in the Noon" the
whispered. That's all can
ready and must be going. We aren't al
lowed to be out so late"
She glided over the coverlet and left
him to ponder her story in the dark.
Perhaps she will be surprised when she
finds he was not the only one who
beaudi