Thursday, September 5, 2019

Week 3 Story: The Quarrel of the Sun and Moon

Inspired by The Quarrel of the Cat and Dog from Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends by Gertrude Landa (1919).

Image result for sun and moon
Sun and Moon from the Nuremberg Chronicle by Hartmann Schedel (1440-1514)

When God created the Sun and the Moon, they were destined to be the best of friends. The Sun would warm the Moon, and the Moon would cool the Sun. The two lived harmoniously in the cosmos and nothing would ever tear the two apart. That is, until God created the Earth. There was less space for the two to roam so closely together. The Sun felt squished and the Moon grew to be claustrophobic. 

The Moon moaned and groaned about not being able to go on much longer in these conditions. He thought it would be best if they split apart in the Milky Way Galaxy. But the Sun thought he warmed the Moon, that the Moon would need his help. The Moon thought that he was cold and hard enough to take care of himself, and so he convinced the Sun to depart. The Moon decided he would go to provide shade for the Earth, and the Sun was to wander off throughout the galaxy. The two took an oath to never inhabit the same space again, as it would just be too difficult. The Sun somberly drifted away while the Moon shifted closer and closer to the Earth. 

When the Moon approached the Earth, he told him that he would provide shade to cool down his land and waters. The Earth welcomed the Moon gleefully. The Moon stayed near the Earth, shifting from land to sea and back again. The Sun, on the other hand, had a more difficult time finding a host. He finally came across Saturn who felt sorry for the Sun. Saturn allowed the Sun to stay near if he agreed to supply energy to Saturns rings. The Sun did exactly that, until the rings began to form around the Sun as well. The energy was too much for the Sun, and he nearly exploded into nothing. The Sun had to leave Saturn and his rings.

Soon the Sun came across Neptune. As he got closer, Neptune warned him to stay far far away. He told the Sun that the rays would melt his ice caps and boil his water. Neptune launched ice at the Sun until they were millions of miles apart. 

The Sun began to get desperate. He soon came across the tiny planet of Pluto. Pluto was happy to have the large Sun near him, as the Sun would provide protection from the larger planets. However, instead of just protecting Pluto, the Sun made Pluto look even smaller to in comparison. Soon, Pluto wasn't considered a planet anymore because when compared to the Sun, Pluto was too small to be a real planet. The Sun had only done more damage to the poor dwarf planet. 

The Sun felt awful and avoided any other planets at all costs. Until one day he stumbled upon a planet that had roots in its dirt. The Sun's rays helped the roots grow and the planet became lush with grass and trees. The Sun then saw the Moon on the other side of the planet and realized that this must be Earth. He wanted to leave for the sake of the Moon, but the Earth wanted the Suns warmth for the land and sea. He told the Sun and Moon that they could both orbit him. The Moon refused to share the Earth, and began to chase the Sun. To this day they are constantly chasing each other around the Earth. 

Author's Note: I wanted to make a story that reflected the opposite nature of the cat and the dog. The sun and moon seemed to be a great choice because the Earth needs both, just like Adam wanted both the cat and dog. Although my story isn't anywhere near scientific, I really enjoyed telling a story of why something happens the way it does today. 



3 comments:

  1. Hello!! I really enjoyed your little story about the sun and moon. I thought it was very cute. However, I did not really understand what the created story was in reference to. I think adding some more details from the original story would be beneficial to your readers. Over all, I really liked reading your story about the planets and the fact that it was not completely scientific made it better, nice job!!

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  2. Hey Megan!

    I really love how you have personified the sun and the moon in this story! It is a wonderful tale depicting the origins of our solar system and the relationships between the sun, moon, and earth. I like how you've included the other planets as well and given them each a distinct character, from icy neptune to feeble pluto. The only suggestion I have is to proofread a little more closely to catch grammatical errors. Nicely done!

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  3. Hi Megan,

    I enjoyed reading through your story with the great details you provided for the reader. Going through the planets and giving each a personality and detailed interaction with the sun was awesome! I also appreciated how you ended the story with the moon and the sun forever being in a chase. Looking forward to reading more of your stories in the future!

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