The Little Moon-lamp
by Jera
Deep in the woods of Maine, there lived an elderly physician. He lived all alone in a friendly little cottage. He shared his peaceful solitude only with a black cat named Jezebel. The doctor worked all day. He was a very good physician, and people came from all over the area just to have him look at them. Jezebel the Cat, on the other hand, lazed about in the sun all day, or she chased the bugs and the butterflies. Her favorite activity in the world, though, was to curl up in the old doctor's lap and purr. The doctor enjoyed this very much, too.
One evening, the doctor was sitting in his favorite armchair, reading the newspaper. On the little table next to him stood a small blue-and-white lamp with a pretty little lampshade. It had a warm, yellowish glow, and the doctor liked very much to sit by this lamp in the evenings, and read his newspaper by its light. Meanwhile, Jezebel the Cat would lay on the shelf and nap. On this particular night, the window was open. The old man enjoyed the fresh night air and the scent of roses, lilacs, and orchids coming in from the flower-garden. Suddenly, a mischievous breeze flew in through the window and grabbed the newspaper right out of the old doctor's hands and out into the yard! Jezebel was startled by the noise. She jumped up and right over the table, knocking over the little lamp! It became pitch dark in an instant.
Jezebel grew very frightened when she saw what she had done. She jumped out of the window and took off running down the driveway. She didn't stop there but kept on running, running along old logging trails and down little paths until she reached a big dark mountain. Jezebel was too scared to even stop running, and he ran right up its side until she reached the top! At the peak of the mountain, it was darker than Jezebel's own velvety black fur coat!
At the peak of the mountain, Jezebel the Cat was stopped by a little fence. There was a little sign on its gate. The sign read: "Moon's Residence. The Moon rises at 7. No Trespassing!" Of course, Jezebel wasn't allowed to enter, either, but she couldn't read -- especially in the dark. So the little cat wriggled underneath the gate, and appeared on the other side of the fence, in the Moon's yard. The Moon happened to be resting in her garden. Jezebel marveled at her pretty, shining silver robe. Jezebel jumped into the Moon's lap. But the kitty was so homesick, she couldn't fall asleep. Lost in her sad thoughts, Jezebel didn't even notice that the Moon slowly rose up, and began her wandering travels throughout the night sky!
As they rose up higher and higher, everything seemed smaller and smaller. The mountains, rivers, and even the ocean seemed diminutive! The croplands in the Midwest looked as if they were patchwork quilts laid out to dry. The Great Lakes were dark and murky patches. When the Moon passed over cities, Jezebel wondered at the many beautiful lights that lit them up. Jezebel grew tired from seeing so many interesting things. She curled up inside the Moon's robe, and purred until she fell into a slumber.
By the time Jezebel woke up, the Moon was again resting in her garden. Together, they had traveled around the whole globe! Jezebel jumped down quickly from the folds of the Moon's robe. She wriggled under the fence again and tore off down the road, all the way home to the doctor's cottage. The old physician was still sitting in his armchair, still sad over his broken lamp. When Jezebel the Cat jumped up on the windowsill, the old doctor was very surprised. Her velvety black coat was covered with a fine, glowing powder! He had no way of knowing that his kitty had been snuggled up to the Moon Herself, and that it was moondust that had stuck to her fur.
"Come here, you little troublemaker," the doctor beckoned. "I'll clean you off." And with that, he took a brush, and brushed the moondust from Jezebel's fur onto a sheet of newspaper. To his amazement, as the moondust accumulated on the sheet, it began to glow more and more! An idea came to the old doctor. He got a little glass jar from his kitchen, and poured the glowing moondust into it. "It's almost like a little lamp!" he exclaimed. "Now I can read my newspaper! And tomorrow, I'll buy myself a new lamp." With that, the old man sat down in his armchair and began reading his newspaper. The freshly-brushed Jezebel jumped into his lap, turned around a few times, settled down, and purred until she fell asleep.
Jera, Copyright 2001. Reprinted with permission.
