Copyright 2005 By "Uncle" Bucky Edgett
Poppa said, “OK, Peanut, your slide is ready.” Toshie and her Poppa were in her play room, changing the jungle gym into a sliding board. Toshie looked at her new slide, and then at Poppa.
“It’s too tall, Poppa,” said Toshie. “Make it for me.”
Poppa shook his head. “I’m real sorry, Tosh, but that’s the only way it can go together. I can catch you at the bottom a few times.”
“No no, Poppa,” said Toshie. She wouldn’t even try her new slide. Poppa was sad, but nothing he said made Toshie change her mind.
“Hey you guys,” Momma called up from the bottom of the stairs. “It’s time for lunch.”
“Hold the rail carefully, Poppa,” said Toshie as she and Poppa walked down to lunch.
“Here we go,” said Momma. Lunch was all ready for Toshie, Momma and Poppa. Baby Nicholas sat on Momma’s lap. “Is that enough places, Toshie? Did you have a good time on your slide?”
“Yes, Momma,” said Toshie. “Alexandra had her lunch. My slide is too tall.”
Momma looked at Poppa. He shrugged. “That’s the way it’s built,” he said. “I might be able to make it shorter, but I’d have to cut it up, and then it wouldn’t make a jungle gym anymore.”
“That’s too bad, Toshie,” said Momma. Everyone was sitting at the kitchen table by now, beginning their lunch. “Maybe you’d get used to it if you tried it.”
“No no, Momma,” said Toshie, and that appeared to be the end of that.
After their delicious lunch, everyone went a different way for the afternoon. Poppa stretched out on the sofa for a little nap. Momma took baby Nicholas to her room for his lunch. Toshie returned to her playroom. The Beautiful Sun was shining merrily through the playroom window. The house was warm and quiet, at least for a moment.
Yowie jumped in from the hall, and he didn’t seem to think the new slide was too tall.
“Look what I did, Tosh!” said Yowie. He bounced over to the slide, and stood by it, dancing from foot to foot. Yowie had added two steps, and now the slide was very tall. It almost touched the ceiling. Yowie, who was hardly half as tall as Toshie, seemed not to be afraid of the towering ladder of steps.
“This is great now,” he said. “You go really fast and bump at the bottom. Climb up, Tosh.”
“No no, Yowie,” said Toshie. “Now it is too too tall.”
“Hah!” shouted Yowie. “Watch this!” He clambered straight up the steps, hardly seeming to touch them at all. Yowie threw himself onto the slide and zoomed to the bottom. He did, indeed, bounce at the bottom. He bounced so hard he rolled into the bureau, and bounced off that.
“Wow!,” cried Yowie when he finally came to a stop. “Terrific! Give it a try!” Of course Toshie refused to try after that demonstration. But Yowie slid down many times, and had such fun, and never minded bumping and bouncing. Soon Toshie thought maybe it would be all right just to climb the ladder, to look down.
“That’s the way, Tosh!” cried Yowie. “Up and up!” Toshie held tight to the poles as she went slowly up. She stepped very carefully.
“Up and up,” cried Yowie. When she was at the top step, Toshie’s head was very near the ceiling. It was scary to be so high. Yowie was having so much fun, he forgot Toshie was frightened by the tall ladder.
“Hang on, Toshie,” he said, “Up and up and UP!” Toshie’s eyes grew big as she looked down at Yowie and saw him began adding steps to the sliding board ladder!
“Up and up and UP!” Yowie’s voice was growing faint as Toshie’s head poked through the ceiling into the dusty attic.
“Oh stop Yowie, stop!” said Toshie. But just as she could not hear Yowie, he didn’t hear her, and she continued to rise, through the roof and into the sky. The ladder rose higher and higher. Toshie held on tight. Soon the ladder was so tall it reached beyond the sky, where the Beautiful Sun and Lady Moon and all the stars shine even when it is day down beneath the sky. The ladder stopped growing. Toshie was right below Lady Moon! Lady Moon’s lovely face smiled at Toshie.
“Hello, Toshie,” said Lady Moon. Her voice was like soft music heard a long way away, so that the notes mixed together into a ringing, humming chime. “I’m so glad you could come for a visit. How are you, and how is your family?” Then Toshie forgot to be afraid, so close to the wonderful moon and her soft warm voice.
“I am fine, thank you,” said Toshie, “And I’m not afraid to be up so high.”
“That’s very good, Toshie,” said Lady Moon, “But you be careful, and hold tight to your tall, tall ladder.”
“Yes, I will,” said Toshie.
“How is your new brother,” said Lady Moon.
“He is fine,” said Toshie, “But sometimes he cries.” Lady Moon smiled more broadly.
“All babies cry sometimes,” she said. “They have not learned to speak, and are unhappy when they cannot tell us what they want.
“You are very lucky to have such a pretty baby brother to live with you all the time. I do not see nearly enough of my brother. And I do love him so very much. But that is often the way with grown ups.” Toshie was puzzled.
“I love my brother, too. Who is your brother?” she said.
“Why Toshie, the Beautiful Sun is my brother. Didn’t you know? Ah, look there,” said Lady Moon.
Toshie looked down. Poppa was standing at the foot of the sliding board ladder.
“Wow,” said Poppa, “Look at you all the way at the top.” Toshie called down to her Poppa, who was only a little way below her now.
“Oh, Poppa,” she said, “Yowie made the ladder too too tall, and I went up and up and right into the sky and then to see Lady Moon! And she said do you love your brother too and I said yes.”
“You’re still pretty high up there, Peanut,” said Poppa. “Can you reach the ceiling?” Toshie tried, but could not quite touch the ceiling.
“Are you going to slide down now?” asked Poppa.
“No no, Poppa,” said Toshie, “Tomorrow I will slide down.”
As Toshie climbed back down the sliding board ladder, Poppa said, “Say, Toshie, who is Lady Moon’s brother?” Toshie stepped onto the floor, and turned to her Poppa.
“Oh Poppa, don’t you know it’s the Beautiful Sun?”
“Well, that makes sense,” said Poppa. Momma had finished feeding Baby Nicholas, and she came into the playroom carrying him on her hip.
“What’s all this about the moon, Toshie?” said Momma. Toshie told Momma about the sliding board ladder and Yowie and Lady Moon. And as everyone went downstairs, holding on carefully, to the den for an afternoon snack, Poppa told Momma about how Toshie had climbed up and down the sliding board ladder.
“So now I guess I won’t have to wreck the jungle gym after all,” said Poppa.
“No no, Poppa,” said Toshie. “Tomorrow I will slide. But Momma, why does Lady Moon miss her brother?”
“Well, Toshie,” said Momma as she handed round the snacks, “The Beautiful Sun is in the sky in the daytime, but Lady Moon is out at night. So I guess they never get to see each other.”
Some time later, Toshie told Uncle Bucky about Lady Moon and her brother the sun. Toshie was sad for them, being apart all the time.
“Yes,” said Uncle Bucky, “That’s mostly right. But you know they do see each other.” Toshie asked Uncle Bucky when that happened.
“OK, you just keep your eyes peeled,” said Uncle Bucky. “You’ll see that once a month, a big full moon is rising in the east when the sun is just setting in the west. That’s why the moon’s full, you know, because Lady Moon is smiling so much to see her brother the sun. And the longer it’s been since that happened, the less she smiles, but then she starts smiling again, because she knows they’ll meet soon.”
“Well, that makes sense,” said Toshie.
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