Little Black Fish talks with the Moon

A village was on the edge of the river. Village women and girls were washing dishes and clothes in the river. The little fish listened to their chatter for a while and watched the children bathing, then set off. The fish went on and on and on, still farther on, until night fell, then lay down under a rock to sleep. The fish woke in the middle of the night and saw the moon shining into the water and lighting up everything. The little black fish liked the moon very much. On nights when the moon shone into the water, the fish longed to creep out from under the moss and speak with her. But Mother would always wake up, pull the fish under the moss, and make it go to sleep again.

The little fish looked up at the moon and said
"Hello, my lovely moon!"
"Hello, Little Black Fish. What brings you here?"
"I'm traveling around the world."
"The world is very big," said the moon. "You can't travel everywhere."
"That's okay," said the fish. "I'll go everywhere I can."
"I'd like to stay with you till morning," said the moon, "but a big black cloud is coming toward me to block out my light."
"Beautiful moon! I like your light so much. I wish you'd always shine on me."
"My dear fish, the truth is, I don't have any light of my own. The sun gives me light and I reflect it to the earth. Tell me, have you heard that humans want to fly up and land on me in a few years?"
"That's impossible," exclaimed the fish.
"It's a difficult task," said the moon, "but whatever they want, humans can. . . ."
The moon couldn't finish her sentence. The dark cloud approached and covered her face.

The night became dark again, and the black fish was alone. The fish looked at the darkness in surprise and amazement for several seconds, then crept under a rock and fell asleep.