To the children he looked like a friendly lad and they were glad
of his help.
Bil balanced the pail on the pole and together they started to carry the
water home.
The weight was so great on Hjuki's shoulder, for he tried to take the
heavier end, that he stumbled and down they both went.
Mani wanted the children's company and so picked them up and carried
them through the sky to the mountains of the moon. There you can see
them when the moon is full, wandering about, seeking to return, falling
and going out of sight, just as they did on earth.
They still carry the bucket and the pole, hoping yet dreading to meet
their parents. They fear that their parents think they ran away from
their task. But try as hard as they can, Mani keeps them from finding
the way back to earth.
THE MAN IN THE MOON
_German_
More than a thousand years ago, on a Sunday morning in the early fall,
an old German woodman told his wife, Gretchen, that he was going after
fagots. She begged him not to go, for it was Sunday and they did not
need the wood. The old man only laughed at her, and trudged away into
the forest where no one could see him.
[Illustration: THE MAN IN THE MOON.
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