The Good Little Stars
Once upon a time a great many little Stars lived up in the sky.
Their father was the Sun, and their mother was the Moon.
Usually these Stars were good little Children. They liked to help brighten the sky and so make the Earth brighter.
But one night when their mother called to them to come and light up the sky, they came very slowly. They looked very cross. They did not shine when she told them to do so.
Mother Moon felt sad. She called up from the Earth some good little Stars. They were only Flowers on Earth, but Mother Moon changed them into Stars in the sky.
The naughty Stars felt themselves falling. Faster and faster they fell, until they sank down into the Earth.
They cried and cried until they fell asleep for they were very sorry for what they had done.
In the morning Father Sun shone out so brightly that everything, even the baby Stars under the grass, wakened. They began to cry again.
Their father felt sorry for them. He told them they might shine on the Earth.
So now the stars shine in the sky at night, and in the morning, when Father Sun shines for them, the Flowers open their eyes and shine in the grass all day.
NATURE AS THE FIRST INVENTOR AND CRAFTSMAN
| THE LANTERN FLY OF TROPICAL AMERICA LIGHT WITHOUT HEAT | ONE OF THE FIRST BOXES, A RECEPTACLE FOR BRAZIL NUTS | ||||
| THE FIRST BALL-AND-SOCKET JOINT—A HUMAN SHOULDER | THE FIRST PUMP—A HEART | THE FIRST SPINNERS—A MOTH WHOSE CATERPILLAR SPINS THE COCOON | |||
| THE FIRST BALLOON—THE “SWELLFISH,” WHICH INFLATES ITSELF | THE FIRST HINGE—THE THORNY OYSTER OF THE PACIFIC | ||||
| A LOBSTER’S CLAW—THE ORIGINAL OF A GAS FITTER’S PINCERS | THE TAILOR BIRD, WHICH STITCHES THE LEAVES OF HER NEST TOGETHER | ||||