The Moon

Night falls and the birds go quiet. Panda is lying outside her den in the mountains. Squirrel comes down from the nearby tree and settles beside her. Together they look at the moon.

“I wish I could pluck it out of the sky,” Panda says.

“Why?” Squirrel asks.

“To play with. The moon is a ball. Don’t you see?”

“Can you play with a ball?” Squirrel asks.

“The children in the village at the foot of the mountain play with them all the time,” Panda says.

“Is that fun?” Squirrel asks.

“The children always seem to be laughing and singing when they throw the ball to each other.”

“Ah,” Squirrel sighs. “Then it must be fun. I wish we were laughing and singing now.”

She stares up at the moon for a while. “Shall I pluck the moon out of the sky for you, Panda?” she suddenly asks.

“Would you?” Panda can’t believe her luck.

“Sure. We’re friends, aren’t we? Friends do all kinds of things for each other.”

Squirrel runs straight up the tree trunk. As fast as a... well, as fast as a squirrel. At the top of the tree, she sticks her paw up into the sky.

“Oh no!” she cries. “I can’t quite reach it!”

“If you stand on tiptoes?” Panda calls back.

Squirrel does her best. She stretches as high as she can. “No, I’m still too small!”

“What about a stick?” Panda calls. “You could knock the moon out of the sky with a stick.”

Squirrel gnaws through a long, slender branch. Then she swings it so hard she almost falls.

“Too bad!” she cries. “It doesn’t help.”

She climbs back down to Panda.

“Too bad,” she says again. “At least I tried.”

Panda thinks it over. “Maybe a ladder,” she says. “People use ladders for climbing. Onto roofs. Or to pick fruit from trees. Come on, Squirrel, gnaw some bamboo!”

Squirrel gnaws down at least thirty stalks while Panda munches on the tender leaves.

“My teeth are starting to hurt,” Squirrel sighs.

“You’re sweet,” Panda says. “Won’t this be enough?”

They tie the pieces together to make a very tall ladder, which they set against the tree. It sticks right up through the crown.

Squirrel scampers to the top and stretches as far as she can. “Oh, no,” she moans. “Still can’t reach.”

“Shall I try?” Panda asks. “I’m a lot bigger than you.”

She starts creeping up the ladder. But it snaps right away and sends Squirrel flying.

“You’re too heavy, Panda!” she cries. “You ate too much bamboo. That’s what you get for being greedy!”

She sits down beside Panda. Together they look at the moon.

“We still don’t have a ball to play with,” Squirrel sighs.

“No,” Panda says. “But...we have something a lot better.”

Squirrel gives Panda a curious look. “What?”

“A friend!” Panda laughs.

“I already knew that,” Squirrel says. “But it’s nice to hear you say it.”

Panda gives Squirrel a big bear hug.

“Careful!” Squirrel squeaks. “You’re squashing me! I won’t be much of a friend if I’m squashed.”

And then they start singing. A quiet song about the moon.