The Moon

       The moon is the biggest and brightest object in the night sky. When we look at the Moon. We can see the surface is covered with dark spots. For centuries, people around the world have looked up at the Moon’s spots and seen different images. To explain these images, they told folktales.

A Hawaiian tale explains that a woman got tired of working and went to the moon to rest by walking on a rainbow bridge.

In the Japanese version of an Indian tale, the god sacra disguised himself as a beggar and asked a monkey, a fox, and a rabbit for food. The rabbit offered its own body as food and amped into a fire. Sarkar saved the rabbit for its .generosity and took him to the Moon, where he works making mocha (rice cakes). A Native American story tells how a frog jumped to the Moon to escape a wolf that was madly in love with her.

A German story explains that a man who was cutting wood on a Sunday was banished to the Moon for working on a religious day.

The Maori people of New Zealand see a woman named rona, who became trapped on the Moon for cursing it when the Moon went behind a cloud and she tripped in the dark.

The Chinese tell different folktales about chang E who swallowed the pill of immortality and floated up to the Moon. She lives with a rabbit who is constantly working to make more medicine for the gods.

The Kimbundu tribe of Angola see a frog who acted as a messenger between the king of Earth and the king of the Moon.

One native Mexican tale explains how two gods wanted to be the Sun. As only one god could be the Sun. a rabit was thrown into the face of one of one of the two sun gods, making it darker and turning it into the Moon.