The Hare in the Moon E:187
In this tender tale, a gentle and compassionate hare is ready to sacrifice his life to give food to the Lord of the Heaven above the mountain, who appears before him, disguised as a hungry beggar. But the Lord of the Heaven spares the little hare’s life and takes him up to the moon, so that from that day forward, everyone on earth will see his shape in the moon, and remember his kindness. An episode from storytelling podcast, Journey with Story. Ages 4-10 (duration 10 minutes)
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Celebrate the Gift of Compassion in this Native American Tale.
The Hare in the Moon
Native American Indian Tale
E: 187 May 26, 2022
Have you ever looked up at the moon on a dark night? What do you see there? Can you see the face of the man in the moon? Or can you see another shape perhaps?
Hello everyone. I’m Kathleen Pelley. Welcome to Journey with Story. Well there are lots and lots of myths and legends about our moon – in many countries around the world, people tell stories about our beautiful moon, and one such story that is popular in India, China, Thailand and in the Native American culture is about how and why the shape of a hare can be seen in the moon. So, today’s episode, called the Hare in the Moon, is a Native American version, about a very kind and generous little hare.
Like so many of the stories I share, this one celebrates the importance of kindness, compassion, and generosity. So, thanks to all of our listeners who have been so kind and generous in taking some time to rate, review, and share this podcast with others. We really appreciate that and if you have not already done so, we would love for you to take a moment to rate and review and share this podcast with others. Thank you so much. It really helps us grow our outreach.
Now let’s take a journey with The Hare in the Moon.
MANY strange things happened long ago, and one of them was that a hare, a monkey, and a fox agreed to live together. They talked about their plan a long time. Then the hare said, “I promise to help the monkey and the fox.” The monkey declared, “I promise to help the fox and the hare.” The fox said, “I promise to help the hare and the monkey.” They shook bands, or rather shook paws. There was something else to which they agreed, and that was that they would kill no living creature.
Now when the Lord of the Heaven above the Mountain heard of this plan, he was greatly pleased, but he said to himself, “I should like to make sure that what I have heard is true, and that they are really gentle and kind to others as well as to themselves. I will go to the forest and see how they behave toward strangers.”
And so the Lord of the Heaven above the Mountain, dressed himself in rags and appeared before the three animals like a beggar.
“May I come into your lodge and rest?” he asked. “I am very weary.”
All three of the animals came toward him and gave him a welcome. “Come into our lodge,” they said. “We have agreed to help one another, so of course we will help you too.”
“I have been hungry all day,” said the Lord of the Heaven above the Mountain “but I should rather have such a welcome than food.”
“But if you are hungry, you must have food,” declared the three animals. “If there were anything in our lodge that you would care to eat, you might have part of it or all of it, but alas, we fear there is nothing here that you would like.”
But then the monkey cried out, “Wait! I have a plan. I will go out into the forest and find you some food.”
The monkey scampered off and climbed a high tree to pick a bunch of the sweetest mangos he could find and brought them back to the Lord of the Heaven above the Mountain.
“Will you not eat some of these yourself?” asked the Lord.
“No,” answered the monkey. “I had rather see you eat it, for I think you are far hungrier than I.”
Now the Lord of the Heaven wished to know whether the fox and the hare would behave as unselfishly as the monkey toward him, and so he said, “My good friends, the fruit was indeed welcome, but I am still hungry.”
At once the fox piped up, “Then I will go out into the forest and see what I can find for you.”
When the fox came back, he said, “I tried to find you ore fruit, but I could not climb the trees, for my paws are not made for climbing, but I searched on the ground, and at last I found some hominy (dried corn) that a traveler had left, and I have brought you that.”
The Lord of the Heaven thanked the fox and ate up the hominy. But now he wanted to see if the hare was alos as kind and generous as his friends, and so no sooner had he finished, than he said, “My good friends, the hominy was indeed welcome, but I am still hungry.”
The hare did not hesitate. He bounded forward saying, “I will gladly go out into the forest and search for food.”
He was gone a long time, and when be came back, he brought no food.
“I am very hungry,” said the Lord of the Heaven above the Mountain.
“Friend,” said the hare, “if you will build a fire beside the rock, I can give you some food.”
So the Lord of the heaven built a fire, and the hare said, “Now I will spring from the top of the rock upon the fire. I have heard that men eat flesh that is taken from the fire, and so I will give you my own.”
The hare sprang from the rock, but the Lord of the Heaven caught him in his hands before the flame could touch him, and said, “Dear, unselfish little hare, the monkey and the fox have welcomed me and searched the forest to find me food, but you have done more, for you have given me yourself. I will take the gift, little hare, and I will carry you in my arms up to the moon, so that every one on the earth may see you and hear the tale of your kindness and unselfishness.”
And to this very day, the Indian people say that if you look up at the moon on a dark night, you can see a hare in the moon and this is the story that they tell their children about that kind and gentle hare.
Awww- don’t you love that little hare? Do you know anyone who is good and kind like Hare – who would really give you almost anything you asked for? I think I know a lot of mummies and daddies who are like that little hare and are ready to give up just about anything if it is good for their children.
Maybe, next time you see a full moon in the sky, you can look up at it and see if you can find the shape of the hare – and then you can remember this story and maybe tell it again to your mummy or daddy.
And remember mums and dads, if you want some coloring sheets to go with our stories, you can become a patreon subscriber at www.journeywithstory.com and start enjoying them today.
Cheerio then, join me next time for Journey with Story.
