The Moon Moth

Once upon a time there was a little moth that lived in a hedge by a streetlight.  The streetlight glowed with a fascinating orange furry light that seemed to promise warmth and fulfilment.  

All the local moths spent each night flying towards the light, only to hit it and bounce away. They were all sure that if they hit it hard enough they would break through to a golden land of joyful light. The moth found this strange and wondered if there weren’t more to life. 

Still he continued to play his part, hitting the light, night after night, till one evening he flew at the orange light harder than he’d ever flown before.  He bounced off it and spiralled away, quite dizzy and stunned. When he opened his eyes he saw a different light in the sky.  It was white and circular, far above the streetlight.  The other moths hadn’t noticed it!  He looked around and then flew towards it alone.  

He flew higher and higher and the air got colder and colder.  Once he looked down and saw more streetlights below him, hundreds of orange pinprick lights.  He wondered if they all had moths flying at them.  Still he kept on flying up and up till the air became thin and his wings began to freeze, but the silver light was so beautiful and pure that he flew even higher.  

I don’t know if the little moth ever reached the moon, but I like to think he did.