STORY CUE CARD
Bibliographic Information (best
version for telling):
The Man in the Moon: Sky Tales from
Many Lands. “Fire and the Moon”, p. 18. Jablow, Alta
and
Carl Withers. New York: Holt, Rinehart
and Winston. 1969.
Ethnic Origin:
Papua, New Guinea
Running Time: 7
minutes
Power Center(s):
Characterizations: Old Woman’s
greed/selfishness, the powerlessness of the people, the Boy’s curiosity.
Events: The discovery of the
moon hidden in the pot; the moon’s escape
Characters:
Old Woman
Young Boy
People of the village
(background)
Scenes:
Old Woman’s mistreatment of the
village
Boy sneaks in, discovers moon
Moon escapes, Boy is unable to
recover
Synopsis:
Old Woman possesses the secret of
fire, doesn’t share with the community.
Curious Boy(s) search for the secret, and discover the moon hidden in a
pot in Old Woman’s hut. Looking at it,
it escapes through the roof. Boy try to
capture it when it gets caught in a tree, but it slips from his grasp and
climbs into the sky, where we can see it, still smudged from the dirt on his
hands.
Rhymes/Special
Phrases/"Flavor":
Audience (why is this story
appropriate for the audience? developmental characteristics?):
This version is intended for
early elementary (1st and 2nd graders), an age at which
they are developing a sense of curiosity about why things in their world are as
they are. They may have been exposed to
Western creation stories (and perhaps those from other cultures), so they have
an awareness that this is a fantasy which tries to explain something they have
seen. It begins with
events/characterizations within their direct experience (fire has power and is
restricted; people, especially adults, who have something that others don’t
sometimes lord it over them), recreates their curiosity, and moves toward a “just” conclusion. It also (hopefully) has humorous elements and
an unspoken moral. (From Huck, 1993)
Bibliographic information on other
versions/variants (at least two)?
Jablow has collected a number of
stories that retell how the moon came to be in the sky, and where its markings
came from, or what they represent. This
is the only story I saw that attempted to do both, so it is unique in that
aspect.
She has an Algerian story about
the markings on the moon coming from a young boy – “The First Tears” (p. 10)
tells about an orphan whose sorrow and tears are borne away by a compassionate
moon, which is marked permanently.
Another, from the Masai of
Africa, tells about Sun and Moon fighting, and how the marks on the moon are
bruises and scars from the battle. The
sun blushes so from shame that people cannot look at it. (“The Brawl Between Sun and Moon”, p. 19.)
I also liked “Why the Sun and
Moon Live in the Sky” in How the People Sang the Mountains Up by Maria
Leach. (New York: Viking Press. 1967.)
This African tale tells how the overenthusiastic host, the Sun and his
wife the Moon, are washed out of their house by their friend Water, and have to
climb up into the sky.
Brief comparison of all
versions/variants in terms of language, rhythm, "tellability,"
"flavor," content, etc. Stress
the differences in style rather than those of content.
As noted above, this story is
unique in its combined approach, which is why I selected it; however, based on
Jablow’s terse reporting of the various tales, it is difficult to sense the
original flavors or features of the variants.
“Why the
Sun and Moon Live in the Sky” is probably the most visual of the tales – the
excitement of the hosts, followed by the flowing in of the water people (who
repeatedly ask “Are you sure there is enough room?” even as the Sun and Moon
climb onto the roof) – makes it a good tale to “have”, and one which could be
adapted to be told to nearly any audience.