The spirit waits a bit (anyone else who cares to show up in time to hear the story may certainly do so.)
He then recites the following tale:
"Now it came to pass that there was a time, long, long ago, when the King of Cats needed to go from one place to another. He listened to the wind, and the wind told him that to get to where he was going, he would have to walk the paths of the Moon.
The King of Cats puzzled over this for a long time. He had never been to the Moon. He could see it in the sky, but how was he to walk its paths?
First, he tried jumping as high as he could…but though cats are good jumpers, that wasn’t nearly enough to get him to the Moon.
Then, he tried climbing the tallest tree he could. Even though he climbed to the very top, though, he still wasn’t even close to the Moon. All he succeeded in doing was annoying Crow, who had a nest in the tree.
“Cat King, what are you doing in my tree?” cried Crow. “You belong on the ground. I’ve got half a mind to peck your nose off to teach you manners!”
“I didn’t mean to disturb you,” apologized the King of Cats. “I didn’t know this was your tree. I’m trying to get to the Moon, you see.”
Crow laughed his raucuous laugh. “Get to the Moon by climbing a tree? You might as well try to put the north wind in your pocket! The Moon is ever so high above the trees…higher, even, than I can fly!”
The Cat King frowned. “Then how am I to get to the Moon?” he asked…mostly to himself, but Crow overheard him. Though birds can’t shrug, he somehow managed. “Go talk to Brother and Sister Wolf,” he suggested. “They run under the Moon, and they know Her ways. Perhaps they know how you can get there.”
So the King of Cats climbed down from the tall tree and went in search of Brother and Sister Wolf. He found their den near a rushing river which sang to the sun all day, and to the stars all night.
Now, Brother Wolf was a trifle suspicious of the King of Cats, for he thought perhaps the King meant to play one of his many tricks. “What brings the Cat King to our hunting grounds?” he asked, warily.
“I need to walk the paths of the Moon,” said the King of Cats. “But I don’t know how to get there. Crow said that you might know the way.”
Sister Wolf regarded him with golden eyes. “I am a child of the Moon,” she answered. “She taught me how to hunt. Yes, I know the way, and I can show you. Follow me.”
Sister Wolf led the King of Cats to the riverbank. They followed it for a time until they came to a grand waterfall.
“This is very lovely,” said the King of the Cats. “But I don’t see how it helps me get to the moon.”
Sister Wolf smiled her wolfy smile. “Look over the edge and tell me what you see,” she said.
The King of Cats peered cautiously over the edge of the waterfall. Much to his amazement, in the pool at the base of the waterfall, he saw the Moon, shining bright.
“But how can the Moon be down there?” he asked in amazement.
“The Moon is everywhere,” replied Sister Wolf. “She is in the sky; she is upon the water; she is in our hearts and our souls. You were so busy looking upward that you forgot to look inward. The Moon is with us always…on the brightest day, or in the depths of the darkest and cloudiest night. Never forget that, o King of Cats.”
“You’re right,” admitted the King of Cats. “I did forget to look inward…and downward, as well. But it is still a long way to the Moon, so how am I to get there?”
And that is when Brother Wolf pushed him over the edge of the waterfall.
With a yowl of surprise, the King of Cats tumbled…down, down, ever down. It is the nature of cats to land on their feet, but there was nothing to land on. With a splash, he hit the image of the Moon. His eyes were tightly shut, for he was quite sure he would be smashed to pieces, or else drown.
When he opened his eyes, and gingerly felt himself to see if he had been broken into a thousand pieces, he discovered that he was not only alive and intact, but dry, and standing on a shimmering path of light—the path of the Moon. Brother Wolf was there, tongue lolling out in a wolfy grin. Sister Wolf sat nearby, also looking amused.
“Sometimes a leap of faith requires a little assistance,” she noted.
Now, nobody appreciates a good joke like the King of Cats. It took him a few moments to regain his composure, but when he did, he had to admit that Brother Wolf had paid him back well for all of the pranks and tricks he had played in the past. With a laugh, he thanked Sister Wolf for her wisdom…and Brother Wolf for the helping hand…and set off down the path to his destination.
Where he was going, and what he did when he got there, is a story for another day."
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