Lyubov Talimonova
The Tale of the Moon-Elves
Translated from the Russian original by David Parfitt
© L. Talimonova, text, illustrations, design
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Once upon a time, in the vast empty spaces of the Universe, there was a round yellow Moon. And on this Moon lived the Moon-elves. They were kind and merry little folk. Each elf had his own cosy little house, and around each house was an orchard and lots and lots of flowers. Out of all the flowers, the Moon-elves were particularly fond of roses, and they looked after them with special care. The Moon-folk spent their days working in their little gardens, and in return for their hard work the trees gave them Moon-apples and Moon-pears all year round. Wild strawberry bushes gave plenty of berries, and beautiful flowers made everyone happy.
Every morning the little elves collected dew from their flowers and spent the day drinking it. They thought that the morning flower dew was the best drink in the whole Universe. In the evening everyone would gather together to tell each other magical stories and sing merry songs. Life was good for the Moon-elves.
But one evening the elves ran out of stories and songs. There was nothing left for them to tell and sing to each other. And the little elves grew sad; they stopped working in their gardens and tending the roses, and even gave up drinking flower dew. Day and night the Moon-folk sat and tried to think what to do. How could they be happy again, and where could they find new songs and stories?
Now on the Moon lived two elves called Ommi and Ofa who were the best of friends. They were unhappy too, and wanted to help themselves and all of the Moon-folk.
One night, when the blue Earth shone in the window of Ofa’s little house and the two elves could not sleep, Ommi said, “Ofa, I have heard that people also live on other planets in the Solar System, and they have kind rulers who look after them. But here on the Moon, Ofa, there is nobody to take care of us. Perhaps we could fly into space on a comet and look for a king who would love the Moon-elves and make up new stories, poems and songs for us.” Ofa was very pleased with the idea, and the two of them decided to set off straight away to the edge of the Solar System to begin the search for a Moon-king.
The first person they met was King Tarvis, the ruler of the planet Pluto. Even though there was no Moon-king on Pluto, they decided to visit the planet anyway. Pluto was slightly larger than the Moon, and its people were gentle, kind and intelligent. Ommi and Ofa saw how each little house had a telescope peeping out of the roof, which could see other worlds. The people of Pluto also loved medicine, and in their little gardens they grew special herbs and flowers to make people well again. The King himself loved medicine and astronomy, and he showed the Moon-elves his enormous telescope and his many learned books.
Over a delicious cup of tea, King Tarvis told the elves that at the very edge of the Solar System were two more planets, although he advised them not to go there. Prada, the queen of one of the planets, was so proud that she hardly ever appeared in public. And even when she did meet the rulers of other planets, she would turn her back on them. She thought that she was the cleverest and most beautiful person in the Universe, and wanted nothing to do with anyone.
However, the ruler of the other planet, Queen Oris, was so shy and timid that she never spoke to anyone. But she was also very curious and her large eyes could be seen gazing across the Universe.
The Moon-elves listened to King Tarvis and decided that it was not worth asking the queens of these two planets for help. And following his advice, they set out for the planet Neptune.
* * *
Nuatas, the King of Neptune, gave a hearty welcome to Ommi and Ofa. He treated the elves to sweet cake and light pastries. The people of Neptune were very hospitable, and they arranged a concert for their little guests. They were excellent musicians and played pipes, harps and sea shells of various shapes and sizes. The two elves had never heard shell music before and they were enchanted by the melodies of the cockleshells.
King Nuatas composed wonderful music and could play many different musical instruments. Ommi and Ofa would have loved him to be their Moon-king, but he already had the people of Neptune to look after. Nuatas begged the the Moon-elves not to be upset, and he told them that they might find a Moon-king on the planet Uranus. Its ruler, Suatar, was the wisest king in the whole Solar System. “Suatar is a great historian and knows the history of the whole Universe. He can also read thoughts and see through objects”, said King Nuatas.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Once upon a time, in the vast empty spaces of the Universe, there was a round yellow Moon. And on this Moon lived the Moon-elves. They were kind and merry little folk. Each elf had his own cosy little house, and around each house was an orchard and lots and lots of flowers. Out of all the flowers, the Moon-elves were particularly fond of roses, and they looked after them with special care. The Moon-folk spent their days working in their little gardens, and in return for their hard work the trees gave them Moon-apples and Moon-pears all year round. Wild strawberry bushes gave plenty of berries, and beautiful flowers made everyone happy.
Every morning the little elves collected dew from their flowers and spent the day drinking it. They thought that the morning flower dew was the best drink in the whole Universe. In the evening everyone would gather together to tell each other magical stories and sing merry songs. Life was good for the Moon-elves.
But one evening the elves ran out of stories and songs. There was nothing left for them to tell and sing to each other. And the little elves grew sad; they stopped working in their gardens and tending the roses, and even gave up drinking flower dew. Day and night the Moon-folk sat and tried to think what to do. How could they be happy again, and where could they find new songs and stories?
Now on the Moon lived two elves called Ommi and Ofa who were the best of friends. They were unhappy too, and wanted to help themselves and all of the Moon-folk.
One night, when the blue Earth shone in the window of Ofa’s little house and the two elves could not sleep, Ommi said, “Ofa, I have heard that people also live on other planets in the Solar System, and they have kind rulers who look after them. But here on the Moon, Ofa, there is nobody to take care of us. Perhaps we could fly into space on a comet and look for a king who would love the Moon-elves and make up new stories, poems and songs for us.” Ofa was very pleased with the idea, and the two of them decided to set off straight away to the edge of the Solar System to begin the search for a Moon-king.
The first person they met was King Tarvis, the ruler of the planet Pluto. Even though there was no Moon-king on Pluto, they decided to visit the planet anyway. Pluto was slightly larger than the Moon, and its people were gentle, kind and intelligent. Ommi and Ofa saw how each little house had a telescope peeping out of the roof, which could see other worlds. The people of Pluto also loved medicine, and in their little gardens they grew special herbs and flowers to make people well again. The King himself loved medicine and astronomy, and he showed the Moon-elves his enormous telescope and his many learned books.
Over a delicious cup of tea, King Tarvis told the elves that at the very edge of the Solar System were two more planets, although he advised them not to go there. Prada, the queen of one of the planets, was so proud that she hardly ever appeared in public. And even when she did meet the rulers of other planets, she would turn her back on them. She thought that she was the cleverest and most beautiful person in the Universe, and wanted nothing to do with anyone.
However, the ruler of the other planet, Queen Oris, was so shy and timid that she never spoke to anyone. But she was also very curious and her large eyes could be seen gazing across the Universe.
The Moon-elves listened to King Tarvis and decided that it was not worth asking the queens of these two planets for help. And following his advice, they set out for the planet Neptune.
* * *
Nuatas, the King of Neptune, gave a hearty welcome to Ommi and Ofa. He treated the elves to sweet cake and light pastries. The people of Neptune were very hospitable, and they arranged a concert for their little guests. They were excellent musicians and played pipes, harps and sea shells of various shapes and sizes. The two elves had never heard shell music before and they were enchanted by the melodies of the cockleshells.
King Nuatas composed wonderful music and could play many different musical instruments. Ommi and Ofa would have loved him to be their Moon-king, but he already had the people of Neptune to look after. Nuatas begged the the Moon-elves not to be upset, and he told them that they might find a Moon-king on the planet Uranus. Its ruler, Suatar, was the wisest king in the whole Solar System. “Suatar is a great historian and knows the history of the whole Universe. He can also read thoughts and see through objects”, said King Nuatas.
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