THE STAR-CHILDREN.
Queen Sunshine lived in a wonderful red and blue castle.
She wore a dress of gold. Whenever she came out from her castle everything became light.
She had many children whom she loved very dearly, and they also wore dresses of gold.
Their good servant, the Moon, who followed after them, wore a dress of shining silver.
In another country across the sea lived Queen Darkness.
She always wore the same black dress. Wherever she went all things became dark.
She was alone and unhappy and often wished that she had children like those of Queen Sunshine.
One day when Queen Sunshine’s children were playing on the seashore, a little boy fell into the water.
“Oh, help me! Help me!” he cried.
One of his sisters tried to help him, and she, too, fell into the sea.
By and by, when the Moon came to take them home, not one child was on the shore. They had all fallen into the water.
The Moon looked at the sea, and saw that it was black.
“Oh!” she cried. “Queen Darkness is there! She has taken all the dear children.”
The Moon was so sorry for Queen Sunshine that she would not go home and tell her that Queen Darkness had taken the children.
She said to Queen Darkness, “Let me go with the children.”
Queen Darkness gladly carried their good servant, the Moon, to her dark castle to live with Queen Sunshine’s children.
She named them the Star-children. Queen Darkness always keeps the Star-children near her. The little ones are so close together that they look like a silver ribbon on her dress.
Ever since, their mother, Queen Sunshine, has been looking for her children.
Whenever she comes in her golden dress tothe shore of the sea, the water is so bright that she cannot find them.
Queen Darkness does not let the Star-children go out when it is light, but once every night she leads them across the sky.
Their mother always follows after them. Sometimes she sees one of her children far away.
The kind old servant, the Moon, sometimes runs away and comes to Queen Sunshine to tell her about her children.
From the German ofFraulein Meissner(Adapted).