The Moon Takes a Day Off

Perla lives in a small fishing village by the sea. Every night, she looks out of her window at the water. Tonight is special. It's the night of the full moon. The fishermen are waiting for it, because they need its light for their boats.

But the moon isn't coming up. The sky is black. The fishermen are standing on the beach, and they're looking up. "Where is it?" they ask. Nobody knows.

Then Perla hears a small voice under her window. She looks down. The moon is sitting on the sand! It's round and white, and it's yawning. "I'm so tired," it says. "I work every night, and I never sleep."

Perla thinks for a minute. Then she takes her night lamp. It's small and yellow, with a fish on it. "Take a night off," she says. "My lamp can help the boats." She puts the lamp in her window. Slowly, it starts to shine, brighter and brighter, like a little moon.

The moon smiles at her. It rolls up the hill and goes to sleep behind it. On the beach, the fishermen are laughing. They're pushing their boats into the yellow water.

The next night, the moon is back in the sky, big and bright. But Perla's lamp is still on in her window. Now she leaves it on every night, just in case the moon is tired.