Hi, Rebecca Shear here. Before we get to our story, exciting news.
Circle Round is going back on tour. with live recordings across the united states our first stop Sunday, October 5th in Parker, Colorado at the Pace Center.
And Circle Round Club members are invited to a special post-show meet and greet with me and composer Eric Shimalonis.
Get your tickets at wbur.org slash circle around and click on events.
We're announcing more tour stops soon, so stay tuned.
We look forward to circling around with you live.
Produced by the iLab at WBUR Boston. Have you ever looked up at the night sky, seen the moon, and sworn you could make out a face?
Lots of people talk about the man in the moon, but in today's story...
We'll meet the woman behind that shimmering glow.
¶¶ I'm Rebecca Shear, and welcome to Circle Round, where storytime happens all the time.
Today our story is called The Woman in the Moon.
It comes to us from the Alutiiq people of Alaska.
Some really great people came together to bring you our telling of this folktale, including Irene Bedard.
Kids, you may know Irene as the voice of the title character in the Disney animated film Pocahontas.
She reprised the role in Ralph Breaks the Internet.
So circle around, everyone, for the woman in the moon.
Long ago, On a lush green island surrounded by clear blue water, there lived a young woman.
She and her family made their home in a small fishing village on the edge of the island.
Her best friend was her cousin. and the two of them were inseparable.
Every morning they'd wander the forest together and gather roots and berries together.
Then they'd spend the afternoon weaving the roots into baskets and hats.
Together. And crushing the berries into juice and jelly.
That's right. Together. But their favorite part of the day wasn't day at all.
It was night. That's when the two young women would scamper down to the beach, paddle their kayak around the bay, then come back to shore.
They'd flip their kayak over on the gravelly sand, lean against it, And wait.
Ugh. He'll be here soon, right? I feel like we've been waiting forever.
Yes, cousin. You'll be here. Any minute now.
Be patient. Now, as for who the women were waiting for, well...
It wasn't a man. It wasn't a boy. Nor was it any of the bears, foxes, otters, and seals who made their home on and around the island.
No, it was... The moon! And when the moon finally showed his face above the horizon...
The woman and her cousin were entranced.
Wow. Look how bright he is tonight. Isn't he magnificent?
Now as we know, the moon doesn't rise every night.
And on those evenings where there was no moon, what we call a new moon, The woman's cousin spent the whole night sighing.
Oh, why does he have to stay away so long?
Come now, cousin. It's only a few days. Thank you.
I know, but it might as well be an eternity.
The woman arched her eyebrows and cocked her head.
You know, cousin... If I didn't know better, I'd say you've fallen in love with the moon.
Her cousin giggled. Gosh, you know what?
I think I have fallen in love with the moon.
He gives me butterflies. I mean, he's so gorgeous.
True. but I'm more impressed by how hard he works, muscling his way up from the horizon carrying all that light across the night sky.
And look how he changes. Sometimes he's a slender sliver, and sometimes he's a great round ball.
What an amazing job! The cousin smiled.
I don't know about that, but I tell you, if the moon came down to Earth, I would marry him.
In an instant! Well, cousin, I hope I get to be the maid of honor.
One night, the sky was particularly cloudy.
The moon was just a crescent, and as soon as he peeked his face above the horizon, He disappeared behind a heavy wall of clouds.
Well, that's not fair. We barely got to see him.
Patience, cousin. You'll be out soon. Then you can tell him how much you love him.
Or you can tell him how much you want his job.
The women were interrupted by the crunch of footsteps on the gravelly sand.
Um, excuse me? The women hopped up and spun around.
Before them stood a tall man... He was dressed in white and wearing a giant glowing headpiece shaped like a crescent.
Sorry to interrupt, but I had to come down from the sky and say something.
The women stared at the man with wide eyes.
Immediately, they knew he wasn't a man at all.
He was the moon. Listen, you've both been so dedicated through the years, so devoted. watching me climb high into the sky and work my way across, waiting for me to return after I'd been gone a few days.
And that is why... He extended his glimmering arms.
That is why I have come to marry you. The woman was too shocked to speak.
Her cousin squealed. No need to say anything right now, at least.
Not until I explain. You see, my work is very hard, very dangerous.
So, I can only take one of you with me, the one who is more patient.
The woman knew that between her and her cousin, she was far more skilled at waiting for things.
But she also knew that marrying the moon was her cousin's dream come true.
With all due respect, moon. My cousin and I do everything together.
We always have. She's right. You must take us both.
The moon furrowed his gleaming brow. All right, then.
Here's what you must do. Close your eyes, and do not open them until I ask you to.
So the women closed their eyes. Suddenly, they felt their feet lift from the ground. before they knew it the wind was whistling past their ears and they were soaring higher and higher higher into the sky, held tight by the rays of the moon.
After a while, the cousin was overcome by curiosity.
What did it look like from way up here? Where were they going?
And how long till they got there? Surely the moon wouldn't notice if she opened One eye, just a teeny tiny bit.
But as soon as she did, she began to drop down, down, down until she plopped down. on the beach.
Meanwhile, her more patient cousin continued flying through the sky all night long.
In the morning, she found herself standing inside the house of the moon.
What do you think will happen next? Will the woman achieve her dream of helping the moon carry light across the sky?
We'll find out after a quick break. Support for Circle Round comes from Indeed.
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Hiring? Indeed is all you need. need. Welcome back to Circle Round.
I'm Rebecca Shear. Today our story is called The Woman in the Moon.
Amen. When we left off, a patient woman from an island village had become the wife of the moon.
Welcome, my love, to your new home. I'm so happy you're here and I want you to enjoy yourself.
So do whatever you want to do. Go wherever you want to go.
Just promise me one thing. The moon leaned in closely.
Promise me you will never enter the room at the end of the hall.
That's a very special room. It's where I keep my headpieces. one for each phase of the moon.
They are very big and very heavy. and that door must always remain closed.
Do you understand? The woman's heart fell.
But I was hoping... that maybe I could help you.
You know, with your work. carrying light across the night sky.
The moon smiled. Aw. That's very sweet of you, my love.
But my work is too hard, too dangerous. No, you must stay home while I'm out doing my job.
I'll take care of the heavy lifting. Days passed, then weeks, then months.
And even though the woman had always been a patient person, With each new phase of the moon, she found herself growing bored and lonely.
After all, she barely saw her husband. After working hard all night The moon would come home, drop his headpiece off in the special room, then sleep all day.
The woman realized the only time they were both together and both awake was during the new moon. when her husband could take a few nights off.
Then he was back to work again, starting as a tiny crescent. before growing, or waxing, into a full moon.
After that, he'd start shrinking again, or waning, until it was time for another new moon.
After one of those new moon breaks, it was time to head back to work.
The moon got a slim crescent headpiece from the room at the end of the hall, kissed his wife on the cheek, then marched out the door.
The woman couldn't sleep that night, so she took a walk.
Venturing farther from her house than she ever had before, she came upon a trail. which led to another set of trails, which led to even more trails.
The woman picked one of the trails and began following it.
Soon she came to the end. And when she did... Oh my!
Is that... a person? It certainly looked like a person, only that person was lying face down on the ground.
Hello down there. Hello? I can't tell you how happy I am to see another person up here.
I mean, how many conversations can I have with myself, right?
But the person didn't answer. So the woman tried another trail. and came to another person lying face down on the ground.
Hi! Hello? What? You're not going to answer me either?
The same thing happened again and again.
The woman would go down a trail, find a person lying face down, and get absolutely no response.
Until... Hello? Maybe you'll talk to me?
I would talk to you, lady, but can't you see I'm working?
The woman gasped as the person turned his head.
In the middle of his face, he had one big eye.
It sparkled so brightly, the woman had to squint.
So sorry to bother you, but... What do you mean, working on what?
The one-eyed person glanced around to make sure nobody was coming.
Then he motioned for the woman to lean down.
Has your husband not told you? I'm a star.
There's a bunch of us up here. It's our job to make the night sky, you know, twinkle twinkle.
Wow. So I guess I don't have to wonder what you are.
The star smiled. Yeah, never heard that one before.
Seriously though, I'm supposed to be. Like a diamond in the sky, right?
So if you'll excuse me, this diamond's gotta get back to work.
And with that, he lay back down on the ground, his sparkling eye shining down on the earth below.
By the time the woman trudged back to her house, it was nearly morning.
She sighed and slumped down in the hallway What a bummer Everyone has a job up here.
Everyone but me, that is. I mean, I've tried to be patient.
Her eyes moved to the door of her husband's special room.
But enough is enough. The woman strided over to the door and turned the handle.
As she crept inside, she could hardly believe what she saw.
First off, the room was enormous, bigger than she'd ever imagined it to be.
Second, it looked just like a miniature version of the Earth.
There were craggy mountains, deep valleys, and green fields. plus flowing rivers, dazzling lakes, and oceans rippling with waves.
As the woman wandered through this miniature world, she even saw houses and huts, much like the ones she used to live in on her island.
Mm-hmm. Hanging from heavy ropes above all the mountains and rivers, valleys and oceans, were her husband's headpieces.
The woman saw a gleaming half moon, a glistening quarter moon, a luminous full moon, and everything. every other phase in between.
The only headpiece missing was the slimmest crescent. which her husband had worn when he left for work the night before.
The woman reached up toward a headpiece that was nearly full.
She loosened it from its rope and felt the weight of the headpiece in her hands.
Then she took a deep breath. and heaved the headpiece on to her head.
Once it was on, she approached one of the miniature oceans and gazed down at her reflection in the clear water.
Wow. The woman looked luminous and felt powerful.
After all this time, she was finally getting a taste of doing the moon's job and carrying the light.
But then... And just what do you think you're doing?
The moon entered the room and marched over to his wife.
He stood behind her and was about to gingerly remove her headpiece when...
Wait! The woman gestured down toward the water in the miniature ocean.
My darling. Don't you see? The moon looked down at the water.
There he saw a reflection of himself, wearing a glinting crescent headpiece that was barely full.
And in front of his reflection, he saw the reflection of his wife... whose shimmering headpiece was almost full.
Together, one in front of the other, the two headpieces looked just like a full circle. moon, in the reflective surface of the water, The almost full and barely full headpieces completed each other.
The moon reached out and embraced his wife.
She embraced him back. From then on, the moon and his wife worked together and shared the duty of carrying light across the night sky.
Each cycle, he would carry the pieces of moon until it was full.
Then she would carry the pieces of moon until it was dark.
He waxed, she waned. And with each new moon, they rested.
So now, most nights, if you look up, you'll see them.
Both of them. The man and the woman in the moon.
Hmm. Now it's your turn. When's the last time you partnered with someone?
Maybe you teamed up with a schoolmate to do an assignment.
You drew a picture with a friend. Or you set up a lemonade stand with a neighbor.
How did it feel to work together? What was it like?
Pick a grown-up in your life and tell them all about it.
After that, have them describe a time they were part of a team.
Woo-hoo! This week's story, The Woman in the Moon, was adapted by me, Rebecca Shearer, and edited by Circle Round's executive producer, Jessica Alpert.
Original music and sound design is by Eric Shimalonis.
Our artist is Sabina Han. Did you know you can color Sabina's black and white pictures for every Circle Round story?
Head to our website, wbur.org slash circle around, and click on Coloring Pages.
Special thanks to this week's actors, Frank Katas, James Konacek, Erika Stone and Irene Bedard.
Irene will soon star in a world premiere play in Alaska.
Perseverance Theatre's production of Whale Song runs through the month of February in Juneau. and then in Anchorage from March 8th through the 17th.
This week we had two featured instruments, the drum and the rattle.
You can learn more about these Alaska Native instruments on our website.
Again, that's wbur.org. Have you subscribed to Circle Round yet?
If not, find us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.
And please write us a review. We'd love to hear what you think of the show.
Circle Round is a production of WBUR, Boston's NPR news station.
I'm Rebecca Shear. Thanks for circling around with us.
