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A CHILD'S VISIT TO THE MOON

BY AGNES GIBERNE

NE evening in summer a child stood watching the stars in the sky above him. The moon had just risen in the east, sending its soft light upon the earth. "Oh, if I could only visit the stars!" he sighed.

He sat down and leaned s

Then his eyes closed, and

Soon he began to feel weary. his head against a grassy bank. he fell asleep. It seemed to him that he had been asleep about three seconds when he heard a clear, sweet voice calling his name. He sprang to his feet and looked around. A little girl dressed in white was standing near 10 him.

Her eyes were blue, her hair was golden like the sunset, and on her shoulders there was a pair of silver wings.

"Don't you wish to go with me?" asked the little girl. "Where are you going? What is your name?" said the 15 child.

"My name is Stella," was the answer, "and I am going to visit the stars."

"Oh, I should like that better than anything else," said the child. "But how can I go?"

"I think your wings are strong enough to carry you," said Stella.

"Wings!" cried the child; and peeping over his shoulder he saw them there, sure enough, all ready for use. He felt very strange, but he said, "Oh, yes, let us go."

"We will visit the moon first," said Stella.

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"Yes, because it is the nearest," said the child. "How soon shall we start?"

"Now.

We need not wait a moment."

"But shall we not take some food with us?"

5 "Oh, no," answered Stella. "Those who have wings are never hungry."

"Well, I am ready," said the child.

One! two! three! They spread their wings and rose side by side through the darkness. Below them, everything 10 seemed to sink and fade away. Above them, all seemed to broaden and grow bright.

"See!" said Stella. "We have left the earth behind us. We are flying through space now.”

"How far does space reach?" asked the child.

15 "I do not know. If there is anything beyond space, we only know that God is there."

This seemed to the child a wonderful thought.

"Oh, what is that?" he cried, as a small dark body rushed past them towards the earth. Soon it flamed up 20 for a moment like fire, and then was seen no more.

"Only a shooting star," answered Stella. "Have you never watched for shooting stars at night?"

"Yes, yes," whispered the child, "but I did not know what they were like. I hope one will not strike us. Will 25 not that shooting star fall on the earth and kill somebody?"

"No, it will burn up before it reaches the earth. Now, shut your eyes and take my hand. Do not look until I give you leave."

The child obeyed, and on they flew. Once he said, "We 30 are going ever and ever so fast, but I cannot feel the wind.” "There cannot be wind where there is no air," said Stella. "Wind is moving air."

"Then is there nothing here?" asked the child eagerly. "Nothing that we can see or feel."

Suddenly the child felt himself standing upon his feet. "Open your eyes," said Stella softly.

"Why, here we are back on the earth again!" cried the s child.

"Do you think so? Look around!"

"It's only earth."

It was a strange earth. Here and there were great mountains, casting black shadows upon the plain. The 10 sunshine was so bright and hot that the child could not face it. No grass nor trees nor other plants could be seen anywhere.

"Look up," said Stella.

The child obeyed.

The sky was black, not blue. And the sun! Was it the very same sun? A fringe of many-colored lights streamed from it on all sides, and it was far brighter than the child had ever seen it from his earth home.

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Then he saw another splendid sight. A shining body 20 like the moon was floating aloft, but it was many times larger than the moon and covered with curious marks.

"That is the earth," said Stella.

"I never knew we had such a shining world to live in," said the child. He could hardly believe it was true. "How do you like this heat?" asked Stella.

"I wonder that I can stand it," was the answer. "I never felt such heat."

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"You came with wings," said Stella. "If you had come in any other way, you could not endure it for the tenth part 30 of a second."

Just then a round, hard body came rushing down from

above and struck the ground near where they stood. The ground shook, yet there was no sound.

"Oh!" cried the child, "I did not hear it."

"There are no noises in the moon," said Stella, "for 5 there is no air. Without our wings, we could not hear each other speak. That was only a shooting star.”

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"A shooting star!

But this one did not burn."

"No, there is no air to make it burn. If you will only watch you may see many more."

"I wonder where they come from," said the child.

"Millions and millions of them are always rushing round the sun and moon," answered Stella.

Far away, the child saw a great rocky wall, like a ridge of mountains.

"I wonder what we could see from over there," he said. "We will go and look," answered Stella. "Come, shall we mount the rocks? Spring upward as high as you

can."

The child obeyed; but instead of jumping three or 20 four feet, he easily jumped forty.

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"Why, how is this?" he cried. "I never felt so light. I never jumped so far in my life."

"Well, you have not been used to jumping in the moon," said Stella. "Weight here is much less than on the earth." "Why so?"

"Because the moon is so much smaller than the earth. It does not draw you towards it with so much force."

A few more leaps and some swift climbing and running brought them to the rocky wall. They could see no grass, 30 no trees only black shadows and a black sky and the fierce, bright sunshine.

"I could not bear to live here," said the child.

"I have not shown you the worst yet," said Stella. "You have yet to learn about the moon's night. Sit down, and let us wait. The sun will set in less than a week, and then night will come."

"A week!" cried the child.

"Less than a week. The moon's day lasts a fortnight of our time; but her day is more than half over now, and we will wait and see the sun set."

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So they waited, and watched the sun as it crept slowly down toward the mountain tops and then sank out of 10 sight. Night was upon them. But it was not a very dark night, for the shining earth was brighter than a dozen full

moons.

The cold was fearful. The child drew close to his little friend and shivered.

"Have you seen enough, dear?" asked Stella. "Oh, yes! Let us go home."

"Then take my hand and spread your wings. Shut your eyes and have no fear."

Swiftly they flew from the dreary land of the moon, and 20 before the child thought it possible he was back in the garden by his mother's house.

"Good-by," said Stella, and she faded from his sight.

The child looked up. His mother had come to call him.

1. Imagine yourself in an airplane flying away from the earth, out into space. What would the earth look like directly? Later? How would the sun appear? The moon?

2. What is the moon? Where does it get its brightness from?

If people lived in the moon how would the earth appear to them? 3. Of what other planets besides the earth do you know?