Reading Notes, Indian Fables and Folklore: The Moon in the Well

The mood within the clod

(Source: Pixabay)

Once upon a time, there was a troop of monkeys that just wreaked havoc in the jungle and they were especially annoying at night when all of the other animal were trying to sleep. The monkeys were searching for fruit in the middle of the nights when they suddenly realized that the Moon had disappeared. While the moon was just hiding behind a bank of clouds, the monkeys took on the responsibility of looking for her as if she had fallen from her place in heaven and they were the only hope for those on earth to ever see her again. While they were roaming in the jungle, they caught a slight glimpse of her when they saw her sitting in the little bit of water that sat at the bottom of a well. "Look! The moon has fallen down the well! Let us rescue her," cried the monkeys. All of the monkeys could not believe that they found the moon in a well out of all places. They started to form a plan and took action by creating a human ladder by holding onto the tail of another monkey down the well. The  first monkey was anchored to the outside of a well by a branch but the branch broke and all of the monkeys fell into the well while they were trying to save the moon.

Source: From Indian Fables and Folklore by Shovona Devi, online at: Hathi Trust. The Moon in the Well.