Moon Beams

Once upon a time, there was an old man named Sethni who lived in a small hut far out in the country, miles from the nearest village.

Sethni managed to eke out a living by growing a little wheat and some vegetables, which were sufficient to supply him with food. One evening, as Sethni was washing some vegetables outside his hut, a large white rabbit came hopping toward him. The animal seemed quite tame and sat there contentedly munching the vegetable leaves Sethni threw to it.

After that, the rabbit became a frequent visitor. Sethni would sit and talk to his furry friend, and although the rabbit couldn’t talk, it seemed to understand everything Sethni had to say.

As time went by, Sethni found that with old age, working in his small vegetable patch became more and more difficult. As he rubbed his aching back, he would tell his friend the rabbit how he wished he had someone to help him.

Shortly after that, Sethni had the surprise of his life. It was a bright moonlit night when Sethni happened to glance out of his window. He was flabbergasted to see an elderly woman busy tending to his vegetables. Sitting close by the woman was the white rabbit.

Sethni, deeply puzzled, went outside and asked the woman who she was and where she came from. But the old woman merely smiled at him and went on with her work.

This went on night after night. Sethni found that the old woman not only did all the work in the garden, but while he slept, she cleaned his hut and prepared his food. This was all very wonderful, but Sethni became more and more puzzled until one evening he caught the woman by the arm and, in an imploring voice, asked, “Who are you, and why are you here?”

The old woman, her face full of smiles, replied, “My son, the rabbit and I live on the moon, and if you like, we will take you there, and you can spend your old age in comfort.”

Sethni was only too happy to agree, and the next instant, he found himself with the old woman and the rabbit flying through the air.

Even now, when the moon is full, you can, if you look, see the old man and the old woman and, of course, the rabbit on the moon.

“I think you need an injection for that filling after all, Mr. Smith!”