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Our moon disappears from time to time. What really happens? |
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MOON MAGIC The sun had nearly set. Bluish-pink streaks covered the western sky, and over on the opposite side of the sky, a big reddish ball rose. Up and up came the Moon just in time to say “goodnight” to the Sun before it sunk into the horizon. This moon had just arrived from Saturn to do some sightseeing around the Earth. She was working here for a few weeks, so the Earth’s moon could go on a holiday, skiing around the rings of Saturn. As the new moon rose higher, she shone brighter. This moon never before noticed how she looked, with no water to reflect her appearance on Saturn. Tonight was different. There was no water on Saturn to reflect her appearance. Here on Earth, it was a clear night and the sea was calm. The moon could see her cheerful face shining down. All night she shone proudly as she moved across the sky. The ocean looked as beautiful as she had imagined. The next night, the sun set, leaving a reddish tinge in the sky. Then the moon rose and the night grew darker. Once again, the moon looked at her reflection in the ocean. She thought about everything she had seen throughout the day, beautiful deep green forest, majestic snow capped mountains, sun burnt deserts, lots of tall buildings and some strange looking humans. Next time the moon rose, it was already dark. The moon glanced down to admire herself. The sea was a bit choppy, and it was hard to make out her reflection. But, a bit of her face seemed to have disappeared. Again, another night, the moon checked for her reflection. This time, she saw even less of herself. “Oh no! My face is disappearing. What’s happening to my face?” she gasped out aloud. The sea was calm so she knew that the sea wasn’t playing magic tricks on her. She worried when she no longer saw her full cheerful face she had seen a few nights before. Some nights later, she could not see the water or her reflection because of all the clouds. When the clouds did eventually clear, she got a greater shock. She could only see half of her face. She didn’t know what to do. Feeling scared, she sobbed, “When my face is gone, who’s going to make the ocean shimmer? Who’s going to shine in puddles and swimming pools? It seems that Earth’s air is having strange effects on me after all. Oh dear, I want to go back to Saturn; it really is lonely here. At least on Saturn, there are lots of other moons I can talk to”. She yelled out, “Does anybody down there know what’s happening to my face?” Nobody answered. She called to the stars, “Hey up there, what’s happening to my face?” The stars winked back at her, then faded as the night became lighter. One morning; the sun came up in the eastern sky. “Hello”, said the sun in a bright and cheerful voice. “You don’t look very happy”. “How can I look happy with only a bit of my face?” The moon explained to the sun how each night, she had noticed that more of her face had disappeared. “It’s as if the earth is playing a magic trick on me”. The sun began to laugh. “It’s not funny,” said the moon. “You silly old moon, all your face is there,” said the sun. “Really?” replied the moon. “Of course! It was always there. You see; it’s not you that shines. It’s my face that is shining on you. But sometimes, I am around the other side of the earth and you don’t always catch enough sunlight to make you shine. Sometimes we cannot see you at all, but you’re always there. Even the planets cannot twinkle like the stars unless I’m shining on them”. “Oh what a relief!” cried the moon, feeling much happier knowing her face hadn’t disappeared. What the Sun said was true, because the moon noticed her face get bigger again. One night, the moon rose, looked down on the ocean, and saw her whole face shining back at her. Two weeks later was the next new moon. Our old moon came back to Earth and Saturn’s moon floated back to her home. 727 words Alexandra Jones ã 2002 |
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