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In a quiet forest, a little fox named Thaloub stepped out of his den to see the moon before bed. Every night its silver light drew a path between the trees. But tonight the moon had vanished behind a large cloud. Thaloub lifted his nose. “Did the moon fall asleep before we did? ” he wondered. He waved his tail and called softly, but nobody answered. A cricket sang by a stone, and a cool breeze moved the leaves. “I’ll find a gentle way to wake it,” he decided.
Thaloub stood on a fallen log and sang a song he made up himself: “Little moon above the trees, send your silver light with ease.” He waited, then sang again more quietly. The moon did not move, but a sleepy rabbit peeked out of its burrow. “Your singing is lovely,” said the rabbit, “but I need to sleep.” Thaloub apologized at once. He did not want to disturb his friends. He sat beside the rabbit for a moment, listening to a late bird and the soft rustle of leaves.
An old owl glided down from a nearby branch. “Is the moon sick?” Thaloub asked. The owl smiled. “No, little one. Clouds sometimes pass between us and the moon. Then it seems to disappear.” “So it isn’t sleeping?” asked Thaloub. “The moon is still there, even when we cannot see it,” she replied. Night ambience They looked up and glimpsed a silver edge beyond the cloud. It vanished again a moment later. Thaloub felt better, but he wanted to understand without waking the rest of the forest.
The owl led Thaloub to a clear pond. The frogs were quiet, and a few stars shimmered on the water. “Watch what happens when the cloud moves,” said the owl. Thaloub sat very still. A ribbon of moonlight appeared in the pond, then vanished when the cloud covered the sky. The little fox realized that the pond did not make the moon; it only reflected its light. “Will the wind move the cloud away?” he asked. “Perhaps,” replied the owl, “but there is no need to hurry it.”
A gentle breeze drifted through the willow branches. The leaves whispered, “Shhh,” and the cloud moved a little. Part of the moon’s round face appeared. Thaloub wanted to leap for joy, but he remembered the sleeping rabbit and smiled instead. A firefly landed close to his nose. “Even when the moon is hidden,” the owl said, “there are other little lights to guide us.” Thaloub watched fireflies hovering over the grass like tiny stars that had come down to sleep among the flowers.
At last the cloud floated away, revealing the full, calm moon. Silver light poured over the pond until the water looked like a shining blanket. “There you are!” Thaloub whispered. The owl spread her wings. “It was here all along.” Thaloub looked at the cloud drifting onward, then at his warm den beside the tree. He no longer felt the need to stay awake searching for another adventure. Some beautiful things happened on their own when we gave them time. A peaceful moment could feel wonderful, too.
Thaloub walked home so quietly that he woke nobody. He passed the sleeping rabbit’s burrow and curled up among the roots of his favorite tree. He wrapped his fluffy tail around his paws and listened to the breeze. Outside, moonlight filtered through the leaves. Inside, the little fox felt safe and warm. “Good night, owl,” he whispered. “Good night, moon.” He breathed slowly once, then twice, and closed his eyes. Soon he was dreaming of a white cloud drifting gently through a sky full of stars.