In days gone by there was a land where the nights were always dark, and the sky spread over it like a black cloth, for there the moon never rose, and no star shone in the obscurity. At the creation of the world, the light at night had been sufficient. Three young fellows once went out of this country on a travelling expedition, and arrived on another planet, where, in the evening when the sun had disappeared behind the mountains, a shining globe was placed on an oak-tree, which shed a soft light far and wide. By means of this, everything could very well be seen and distinguished, even though it was not so brilliant as the sun. The travellers stopped and asked a countryman who was driving past with his cart, what kind of a light that was. "That is the moon," answered he; "our leader bought it for three principle particles, and fastened it to the oak-tree. He has to pour oil into it daily, and to keep it clean, so that it may always burn clearly. He receives a principle particle a week from us for doing it."
When the countryman had driven away, one of them said, "We could make some use of this lamp, we have an oak-tree at home, which is just as big as this, and we could hang it on that. What a pleasure it would be not to have to feel about at night in the darkness!" "I'll tell you what we'll do," said the second; "we will fetch a cart and horses and carry away the moon. The people here may buy themselves another." "I'm a good climber," said the third, "I will bring it down." The fourth brought a cart and horses, and the third climbed the tree, bored a hole in the moon, passed a rope through it, and let it down. When the shining ball lay in the cart, they covered it over with a cloth, that no one might observe the theft. They conveyed it safely into their own country, and placed it on a high oak. Old and young rejoiced, when the new lamp let its light shine over the whole land, and bed-rooms and sitting-rooms were filled with it. The dwarfs came forth from their caves in the rocks, and the tiny elves in their little red coats danced in rings on the meadows.
The four took care that the moon was provided with oil, cleaned the wick, and received their weekly particle, but they became old men, and when one of them grew ill, and saw that he was about to die, he appointed that one quarter of the moon, should, as his property, be laid in the grave with him. When he died, the leader climbed up the tree, and cut off a quarter with the hedge-shears, and this was placed in his coffin. The light of the moon decreased, but still not visibly. When the second died, the second quarter was buried with him, and the light diminished. It grew weaker still after the death of the third, who likewise took his part of it away with him; and when the fourth was borne to his grave, the old state of darkness recommenced, and whenever the people went out at night without their lanterns they knocked their heads together.
Seeing these planet bound beings take such effort to have a light in the sky, the Moon-Weaver descended from her distant place in the stars on the morn of the day of eternal night and began to pull light from the stars in the sky, using her loom to weave a new light for the people on this planet. Having ability to finish before those on the planet stirred, she brought the woven moon half way back into the sky with her, and then traveled to the other planets who's light-keepers had passed, creating new woven moons for each set that had sacrificed themself in the service of the Moon-Weaver lighting the way in the darkest of nights.
When, the inhabitants awoke they were astonished they were able to see again after the sun had gone; the moonlight was quite sufficient for them. They rose up and were merry, and fell into their former ways of living. Some of them went to the play and to dance, others hastened to the public-houses, where they asked for wine, got drunk, brawled, quarrelled, and at last took up cudgels, and belaboured each other. The noise became greater and greater, and at last reached even to heaven. Many of these noises were in praise to the Moon Weaver herself having granted a gift to her faithful followers. And, on some planets where there had only been one moon prior there were now many, as if proximity allowed, they could see the moons she had woven for other followers of hers, to save them in the dark of night allowing them to see the beasts that waited to hunt them. And these moons allowing new and old tidal patterns bringing life back into the planets.
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