Page:Fairytales•Tregear•1891.pdf/93

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THE WOMAN IN THE MOON.
87

over the stones to cause steam enough to cook the food.

Taking up her calabashes she unwillingly began to descend the hill towards the stream, and as the full moon was shining brightly she easily found the path and nearly reached the bottom. Suddenly the moon went behind a cloud and intense darkness (or so it seemed) came on. Rona stumbled over a stone, and struck her foot violently against a piece of rock. Losing her temper she uttered a terrible curse on the moon for having withdrawn its light and caused her to stumble in such a painful manner. The god of the moon, who was irritated at hearing the imprecation, seized hold of the woman and tried to carry her off. Rona grasped a small tree and held on to it with all her strength. Her struggles were in vain, for the moon-deity tore her away, the tree coming up by the roots, so Rona was taken up to the moon, and may there still be seen with her water-calabash and the tree to which she clung.

hand′-some
suf-fi′-cient
al-though′
fa′-vour-a-ble
strug′-gles
ir′-ri-ta-ted
tem′-per
vi′-o-lent-ly
sup-plies′
de′-i-ty
reached
un-wil′-ling-ly

o-mis′-sion, neglect or failure to do something that could or ought to be done.
im-pre-ca′-tion, a curse; a calling down evil upon anything; a malediction.