THE MILKY WAY

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 62, 4 June 1927, Page 27 (Supplement)

THE MILKY WAY

Long, long ago there used to be no milky way at all, only a big blue stretch of sky with stars neatly pinned here and there like the ribbon rosettes on a child’s best party frock. But sometimes, when there was a storm, the pins came lose and the stars fell and bumped against the moon or another star and were smashed to bits. And sometimes the babies of the future who play in the sky would use a star for a game of catch and one butterfingers would drop his star, which, too, would instantly smash to bits. So you see, something had to be done with all the little pieces, because the sky rubbish cupboard was just crammed and chock-a-block.

One day the Lord High Cleaner came to the Queen of the Stars, and, bowing low, said: “I have the honour, ma’am, to bring a suggestion from the High Commissioner of the Sky. It would appear that the royal rubbish cupboard is full to bursting, also that several of the babies, when going to earth, have knocked their toes on the thunderclouds and bits of stars about, and got blisters on their heels. Wherefore we do suggest, O beautiful Queen, that you do appoint one Royal Cleaner and Tidier, whose business it shall be to go round and instantly gather up all the bits, pieces, and fragments of such stars, and, having done this, to spread them, at a time that is fit and proper, in a path to the Earth, which shall henceforward be called the Path of Stars, or the Track of the Milky Way, which shall in due course be used by all the babies on their way to the Earth.” Having said all this, the Lord High Cleaner took a deep breath and ate a ju-jube to recover. “That is quite the best idea I have over heard,” cried the Queen, and at once sent her Bumble Bee messenger to fetch Timothy Tubb. In came Timothy, red in the face with excitement. “From henceforth, Timothy, I appoint you to the post of Royal Cleaner and Tidier of the Skies, and you shall be given a shiny brush and pan. that will hook on to a leather belt round your waist so that wherever you are you will always be able to collect the broken, chipped, and shooting stars.” And that is the story of how the Milky Way began, and why the shooting stars we see falling in the sky never reach the earth, and why the stars are always so neat in the sky, with no bits blowing untidily about.