Chai'leys Woiide^^fiil Journeys. 



147 



petite, but when he wanted some custard 

 apples he could not cry any more, and had 

 to go away, although his heart was full 

 almost to bursting. 



"Never mind," said the Maid of the 

 Moon, " it's no good to eat for the mere 

 pleasure of eating; when you are really 

 hungry you can always cry for your supper." 



" I wonder," said Charley, " whether it 

 made the green cheese grow again when 

 the Man in the Moon began crying? " 



" What?" said the Maid in the Moon in a 

 tone of excitement which showed itself in 

 the brilliant flame-colored flowers that 

 sprang up at her feet; " Is the Man in the 

 Moon crying? Are you sure? Is the green 

 cheese all finished? " 



"It isn't quite finished," said Charley," but 

 when the Man in the Moon got out of the 

 ditch, and saw that there was an end of the 

 green cheese he sat down and began to 

 cry." 



"And did he stop eating that horrid 

 green cheese? Oh, do tell me all about it! 

 and how he came to get up out of the 

 ditch " 



Then Charley told her everything that 

 had passed between him and the Man in 

 the Moon, and how he left him crying bit- 

 terly. 



" Oh, I'm so glad! " she exclaimed. 

 Those tears may be his redemption, if he 

 only cry until he has a healthy appetite, 

 and then cry for his supper, but perhaps 

 he is gone back to his horrid green cheese 

 again. I can wait no longer. Let us go 

 and see, for he is my betrothed, and when- 

 ever he is cured of his craving for the hor- 

 rid stuff that never satisfies, we shall be 

 wedded in tears of joy." 



Then she took the two flower pots that 

 Charley had brought from her father, and 

 planted a rose bush in one, and a plantain 

 stalk in the other. She took the rose bush 

 herself, and soon made the air fragrant 

 with its perfume as she wept over it; the 

 plantain she gave to Charley that he might 



cry for his supper if he got hungry. Then 

 they started to see how it was with the 

 Man in the Moon. 



When they came in sight of the spot 

 where Charley left the old man crying they 

 could see that it was deserted, but there 

 was a thick clump of bushes with white 

 trumpet-shaped flowers, and they hastened 

 toward it, but as they approached they found 

 the odor of the flowers worse than that of 

 the green cheese, and tears of sorrow 

 rained from the eyes of the Maid in the 

 Moon, and fairly blanched the roses in the 

 pot she carried. 



They crept over to the edge of the ditch, 

 and peeped in, and there was the old man 

 munching away the green cheese as fast 

 as he could, and looking ten times older 

 and more miserable than ever at the 

 thought that his green cheese would sooner 

 or later come to an end. 



As soon as he saw Charley and the Maid 

 in the Moon his face grew green and hor- 

 rible with rage, for he thought they had 

 come to steal away some of his treasured 

 green cheese; so they made .haste to get 

 out of his way, leaving a pathway of white 

 flowers as they went. 



At last Charley felt downright tired and 

 hungry, and sat down, and wept copiously 

 into the pot he carried. The fruit soon 

 ripened, and he ate, and felt refreshed, but 

 tired with his long journey. 



" Now, earth child," said the Maid of the 

 Moon sadly, " take the two pots, and go to 

 my father, and tell him that my betrothed 

 still lives for the indulgence of his appetite, 

 but that the green cheese is nearly finished. 

 Then give him this rose bush, watered with 

 my tears, it will tell him all he wants to 

 know of me. The plantain tree you may 

 keep for yourself that you may always be 

 able to get your supper when you cry for it." 



" But how shall I find the boat again?" 

 asked Charley. 



"Oh, you needn't go back that way," 

 said the Maid of the Moon; " It's much 



