How the Robin Stole the Moon
• A Native American Folktale by Saket Bolisetty
ABOUT THE AUTHOR • My name is Saket Bolisetty. I am in 11th Grade. I go to a special Ed school called The Calais School in Whippany, NJ. I live in Randolph, NJ. In my spare time, I love to visit the city and go to different art museums and college campuses. • This book is based on the Gerald McDermott story “Raven”
ABOUT THE BOOK • Poor people are living in the darkness at night. • The moon is lost somewhere in the house of the Air Chief. • It’s up to wise and clever Robin to get the moon and bring it back to the people.
Page 1 • Robin came. All the world was in darkness. The sky was in darkness. The waters and mountains were in darkness. Men and women lived in the dark and cold.
Page 2 • Robin was sad and disappointed for the people. She said “ I will search for the moon”.
Page 3 • Robin flew across mountains and across rivers. She flew above the lakes and above the trees. There was darkness all around. Then she saw a bit of light far away. She flew and flew and came closer to the light. The light was at the edge of the river.
Page 4 • The light came from the house of the Air Chief and it was shining. Robin perched high on a tree on the river. Robin watched.
Page 5 • She saw a beautiful young lady emerging from the shining house and went to the edge of the water. She was the Air Chief’s wife. She knelt and drank water from a basket.
Page 6 • Robin had changed herself into a pinecone. And then she fell down from the tree and landed in the water.
Page 7 • When the lady drank again, she swallowed the pinecone.
Page 8 • After a time, the woman gave birth to a child. The child was small and light with pretty black hair and a pretty red shirt. Who do you think the child was?
Page 9 • It was Robin. Robin had been reborn as a girl child. The Air Chief and his wife were so happy with the little girl. He played with her and made toys for her. The Air Chief invited the elders to come and see the cute little girl.
Page 10 • The elders gathered in the shining house watching Robinchild play around the lodge. All the time, she was trying to figure out where the moon was hidden. She saw a box in the corner of the lodge.
Page 11 • The box was red and yellow. It had light pouring out of it. Robin child said “Ga-Ga”. She began to cry.“ What do you want” asked her mother. “ What does the child want” asked the elders. Robin child cried and cried. “ My granddaughter wants the box” said the Air Chief.
Page 12 • The young girl placed the box in front of Robin child, but she continued to cry.
Page 13 • When the young lady opened the box, light poured out of the box. Light flooded the room. Inside the box was a shining ball blazing with light. The ball was the moon. "Give her the ball� said Air Chief.
Page 14 • Her mother gave Robin child the ball. Robin child stopped crying. She began to play with it. She rolled it around the floor of the lodge. “ Ga-Ga” she babbled.
Page 15 • Then she changed into a blue bird. • “Ha-Ha”
Page 16 • She became Robin once again. • “Tweet-Tweet
Page 17 • Air Chief, his wife, and the elders looked on in amazement. Robin plucked up the ball of light in her bright, yellow beak, flew through the smoke holes of the lodge, and disappeared into the dark sky.
Page 18 • Robin flew across the mountains and across the rivers. She flew across the trees and across the lakes. Robin threw the moon high into the sky and it stayed there. This is how Robin stole the moon and gave it to all the people.
Page 19 • And why do the people always feed Robin? To thank her for bringing them light.
The End