The Man In The Moon (Deleted stories)

Once, upon a moonlit night;
when the stars were twinkling bright;
sailing on a silver spoon,
down came the man in the moon.

He was looking for a queen
and, from up above, had seen
a girl with bright, golden hair
who he thought charming and fair.

So, while the pretty girl slept,
in through her window, he crept,
then whispered within her ear,
“Please, come with me, my dear.

Come away and live with me
by the shining, silver sea
in my palace made of gold
where young maids never grow old”.

But,just then, she awoke
and, hearing the moon man, spoke;
“Go away with you?”, she said,
“Never!”, and she shook her head.

“But, come home with me, dear girl
and take my hand in marriage
and you’ll have piles of gems and pearls”,
he urged, “and a royal carriage”.

The girl did not seem impressed,
“I won’t marry you, you pest.
Not for anything”, said she,
“Go away and leave me be”.

But the moon man began to cry;
great tides of tears poured from its eyes
that shimmered, like moon beams, brightly.
Then the girl’s heart softened slightly.

And lifting a mirror from off her wall
said, “Don’t feel hurt by my rejection.
You find me pretty but that is all.
Perhaps you could take my reflection”.

The moon man’s round face filled with cheer;
“Why!”, he said, “What a bright idea”.
Then, out of mirror glass and frame,
leaping forth, her reflection came.

It had her eyes, hair, face and skin;
in fact, it could have been her twin
and the moon man seemed satisfied
to take this double as his bride.

So now, they waved her goodbye
and, hand in hand, flew up high
to start a happy new life;
the man in the moon and his wife.

And the next day, it all seemed
to her, no more than a dream
but then, to her surprise, that lass
saw the moon in her looking glass.