THE MAN IN THE MOON

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 998, 14 June 1930, Page 31

THE MAN IN THE MOON

And How He Reached There

Sometimes, oil a balmy summer evening, when the air is so sweet that you want to swallow large gulps of it, and so quiet that not the faintest sound escapes you. you might (if your eqrs are not dulled by mortal sounds) hear the whispered, silvery voices of fairies telling stories to each other, and a favourite tale of theirs is the following. The older fairies say they heard and saw it all happening, and were mighty glad about it because they hated the giants and loved the humans.

It happened, they say. oil, so very, very long ago, at the time when the giants still lived and roamed the earth. That was indeed a sad, troublous time for the humans, for what chance had they, little, helpless mortals, against the powerful, wicked giants who ill-treated and slew them at every opportunity. Except when the giants were asleep, the-poor humans hardly dared to stir out of their dwellingplaces Things* had been going on thus for more years than you could count, and it appeared as if very soon the humans would be entirely wiped off the earth. That, as you will admit, was a very serious state of affairs indeed. The humans saw it was, and realised that, in order to stop it, something had to bo done without delay.

Now although the humans were so very much smaller than the giants, they were far, far wiser, and they said to each other that it would be easy to fool the great, stupid giants. So they began to hatch a plot. Every’ night, when the thunderous snoring of -the giants showed that they’ were asleep, the humans would creep softly’ out of tlieir hiding-places and gather together in the home of Arantes, the oldest and wisest of them all.

For forty nights they met thus and debated. Little by’ little the plot was thought out and by the end of the fortieth night it was settled. With gladness in their hearts the humans crept back to their homes at the dawn

When Matanbrino, the Chief of the Giants, awoke that day’, he found that a stone tablet had been left at his gates, and on the tablet was inscribed:

t>h. Mighty Matanbrino. We humuns, who are your slave - beg leave to serve your Greatness. From our studies of the heavenly bodies, we have discovered that enor mous riches arc to be found on the moon and if you would but meet us in peace, wo will tell you of a method whereby to obtain those riches. Your lowly servant. Arantes When Matanbrino read this, his greed knew no bounds. In his grasping mind, he already saw himself rich and powerful beyond words, and he lost no time in ordering his servants to put up the white flag of peace. The humans guessed this to be .i----sign that they would be safe, ai d pre sently a number of them, headed by the wise Arantes, entered into tin presence of the Chief of the Giants. "Well.” roared Matanbrino, “and hov* can I get to these riches in the moon?" “Oh, easily. Your Greatness,” answered Arantes humbly, though his eyes held a strange look which Matan brino could not see. “If you and all your subjects, the Giants, would climb up on each other’s heads, you could reach the moon without difficulty.** “Ah’” put In Matanbrino in a pleasou voice. Not for a moment did he sus pect that there was a trick in this. “But.” continued Arantes, “there is only one spot from which you can reach the moon, and that is the high mountain on the Bala Island.” “Ah!” said Matanbrino again, “then to the Bala Island we will go.” Accordingly, he ordered the boats to be got ready, and. in a short while, the Giants of the earth were rowing in th%* direction of Bala Island. The Bala Island was a piece of land which lay in the deep sea some woy from the mainland. It does not exist, now, for it has long ago been washed away and submerged by the sea Well, the Giants rowed across to the island, while, from the mainland, th«* humans watched the working out • f their plot. Even from where the; stood, they could plainly see something, the meaning of which the Giants wej - too stupid to know. In the side of the huge mountain, great deep crackwere visible, and the humans knew what that meant. But since the Giants did no*, they began to cjimb. On and on, up and up, they climbed, right to the top cf the mountain, the right over each other's heads. For three days and three nights they climbed without a stop. unti:. by th* middle of the third night, every single Giant was in that long upright line to the heavens. Matanbrino was the topmost; but he could not the moon. When he saw this, tno Chief grew w'ld with anger, and, in a voice of thunder, bellowed down to the humans: “You have cheated me: You hnv* cheated me! Yiu Will pay for this: We are climbing down a; once!” But the humans were ready with tneir answer, and they sent up word to him by the Giants that they must all stretch up and rise on tiptoe, and then ho would, with certainty, be upon the moon. Matanbrino ordered this to be done, and the Giants* began to stretch up. Slowly, carefully, they rose on tiptoe, and nearer and nearer to tho moon got Matanbrino. At last it was almost within his grasp, when the thing which the humans were expecting happened A loud, loud, rumbling arose from the mountain, and. to the amazement and terror of the Giants, the huge mass of earth and rock began to move and sway. - Gently, gently, it moved av first; then, with startling suddenness and a deafening noise, the top «.f the mountain gave way and slid down, down toward the sea. The expected landslide had occurred Quick as lightning Matanbrino jumped and caught hold of the moon just as the line of giants below him tell with the moving mountain. One after another, pell roell. topsyturvy, higgledy-piggledy, right down the slope and to the bottom 6f the sen they rolled and tumbled and slid. In about ten minutes not a Giant was left except, of course, Matarbrino. But ho was on the moon and. 1 aving r.o means of descending', was forced to remain up there.

And the humans, who henceforth, were free and happy, named him “The Man in the Moon.”