KOKORO Editorial - WHO HAS STOLEN THE MOON?

Samuel T. Cook

Who has stolen the Moon?

KOKORO

To Julia, that little rat who came from the East.

Samuel T. Cook

Samuel T. Cook

Who has stolen the Moon?

KOKORO

One more day, dawn breaks in the village of Silver Maple.

A sleepy Benjamin Kelly says good morning to his Mum, who has come to wake him up.

“Good morning Mum. Yawwwn!”

Benjamin and his Mum, Mrs. Angela Kelly, live in a sunny spot in Silver Maple, surrounded by green meadows and wavy hills.

Everyday after breakfast, Benjamin and all children in Silver Maple go to Miss Plunkett’s school.

Nicholas is Benjamin’s best friend.

“Hey, Benjamin! Will you stay to play ball after class?”

“Sure!” agreed Benjamin.

“Mine!”

Exclaimed Benjamin.

Benjamin, Nicholas and their friends are having such a good time they don’t realise how late it has grown. The sun is but a sliver of light over the horizon and dusk is upon them.

“See you tomorrow! It’s quite late, I must go back home.”

As darkness envelops little Benjamin, his heart is overtaken by fear...

... Suddenly, a warm light appears in the sky, shining over the gloomy forest.

“Mum!” “Benjamin!”

“There you are! Finally we have found you!” exclaimed Mr. McCannon relieved.

“It was the Moon you saw. It’s the heavenly body that illuminates the night from the sky.”

“Mum, I want to see it again!”

“You will see it again, but you have to wait until tomorrow.

Now it’s time to sleep.”

The sight of the Moon had left Benjamin in awe. That night he slept uneasy and impatient to see the Moon again.

The following day he woke up early. It was Saturday and he didn’t have to go to school.

His Mum had left his breakfast ready and a note on the table.

“Dear Benjamin, I have gone to Mrs. Hayes’. Have your breakfast, I will be back soon!”

Restless, Benjamin left home in a hurry. “I cannot wait! I want to see the Moon!�

Benjamin climbed onto a hillock and gazed at the sky.

“Oh no, it’s not there… the Moon is not there!”

Panic-stricken, Benjamin ran looking for his friend Nicholas.

He had to tell him the bad news. “Heavens, it has vanished!�

“Nicholas, the Moon has vanished!”

“Someone must have stolen it for sure!” proclaimed Nicholas.

Anxious, Benjamin and Nicholas shared their fears with Mr. McCannon, who added gravely: “The Moon, stolen? Goodness, this is serious!”

“This is a dire problem!” declared Mr. McCannon. “We have to consult a higher authority, maybe Miss Plunkett.”

So Benjamin went to look for the kind primary teacher.

“You say the Moon has been stolen? Good gracious, how dreadful!

Who would do such a thing?” exclaimed Mrs. Toth rather stricken.

The group went to consult the enigmatic Dr. Shaw, who had lots of detective stories in his personal library. “An astonishing case!� proclaimed Dr. Shaw.

“This is terrible! What shall we do now the Moon has been stolen?� sobbed Benjamin in despair.

“Mum, Mum! Help us, someone has stolen the Moon!”

“That’s right, Mrs. Kelly! Your boy Benjamin swears to have seen it last night.

However, this morning it was gone. Vanished in a puff, kidnapped perhaps!”

“Calm down everyone!” requested Benjamin’s Mum serenely.

“I don’t think anyone has stolen the Moon!”

Mrs. Kelly tried to appease her neighbors and invited them to tea that afternoon, promising to take them later to a place where they would find the Moon.

Not everyone was really convinced, but the prospect of eating Mrs. Kelly’s delicious blackberry pie encouraged them to go along.

It was growing late when everyone followed Mrs. Kelly.

They took a seat on the soft springy grass of the meadows, while the Sun sunk slowly beyond the horizon.

Dusk finally came and then suddenly... “Look, over there!�

All could see that no one had stolen the Moon. This beautiful heavenly body simply went to rest during the day, to shine warmly over Silver Maple at night.

From that day on, Benjamin always made sure he said goodnight to the Moon before going to bed.

Collection

EL GATO Y LA LUNA First edition - 2013 © text and illustration Samuel T. Cook © this edition KOKORO multimedia S.L. All rights reserved KOKORO multimedia C/ Pan de Alcala nº 70 41500 Sevilla info@kokoroeditorial.com Chief Editor: Isabel Caro Associate Editor: Adriana Zurera Graphic design: Antonio Zurera M. Ángel Aísa Translation from Spanish: Adriana Zurera ISBN:

KOKORO

Collection

The adventures of Benjamin Kelly and the Silver Maple village.

EL GATO Y LA LUNA

KOKORO