The Wonderful Fairies of the Sun/The Wedding of "The Man in the Moon"
THE WEDDING OF “THE MAN IN THE MOON.”
THERE’S a very common notion, which was long ago begun,
That a man lives in the Moon, and lives alone;
That he lights the Moon each night with matches borrowed from the Sun.
These are notions, but the facts will now be shown.
Some traditions make him aged; from the Earth he seems to smile;
Yet some say that he is weeping all the time:
But although he’s full each month, he leads a steady, sober life,
For he was married when he reached that lonely clime.
He was always rather partial to the little school-girl stars,
In his early youthful days with Mother Earth,
And would wink and smile bewitchingly each morning when they passed;
And when school was out at night, he joined their mirth.
There was one among their number, though, that seemed to win his heart,
So beautiful, so lovely, pure, and bright,
That he named her “Pretty Venus;” paid attentions thick and fast,
And he popped the question one bright August night.
“He was always rather partial to the little school-girl Stars.”
When the wedding night was settled, and arrangements were complete,
Every star and planet got a card to go.
And they every one accepted, all except, of course, the Sun,
For he never stays out late at night you know.
Father Jupiter accepted; Saturn said he’d bring the ring;
Fierce old Mars would be policeman at the door;
Mercury would be the usher; so the groom was wild with joy,
And got fuller than he ever did before.
On that night, each star and planet donned their very best attire,
Their bright eyes twinkling in their boundless glee.
’Twas a night when all were merry, from the old down to the young,
And they all joined in to have a grand old spree.
As the hour was approaching, crowds of guests came pouring in;—
Some were hours ahead of time and had to wait;
While a member who had stopped to prink, or waited for a friend,
Came on comets, or they’d got there much too late.
“Fierce old Mars would be policeman at the door.”
They were married: and the bridegroom took his lovely blushing bride,
And a loving kiss imprinted on her lips;
And whene’er they do it now, as every little while they do,
Here on earth we call the action an “eclipse;”
Then the banquet lamps were lighted and the Heavens were ablaze,
While a marvellous feast was tendered to the crowds;
For a chair each used a moon-beam, and they made a wondrous sight
Round the table, which was laid upon the clouds.
When the wedding feast was done, congratulations came in stacks;
While the wind played glorious music for the dance;
Brother Thunder did the prompting in the lancers and quadrilles,
And the Lightning lit the hall up like a trance.
’Twas a long time after midnight when the merry-making ceased,
And the guests each took a small prismatic spray
Of Aurora Borealis, as a present from the groom,
To light their passage down the “Milky Way.”
