In a far-off land, there was a pretty little girl called Luna who had the most beautiful long hair, just the color of the ripened corn when the moon was shining upon it. During the day Luna lived in a sunny cottage with her mother, but every night she came out into the garden, which belonged to her mothers mistress, and sat in a lovely green trellis-seat under a faded vine which grew over the arch at the entrance.
The only thing which Luna desired was to know which was the happiest of all the fairies, and which enchantment gave them the most delight. She asked the old moon, which is so wise and sees all things, but it only smiled. That is no answer, old woman, she said, and went away without stopping to look at the waves of the sea, which murmured so sweetly as the tide came in.
She went to bed that night, longing so much to know who was the happiest fairy of them all, and as she slept she dreamed that she saw the moonbeams come running like little angels towards her, and then take her by the hand and lead her into her garden.
“Dear little girl,” said one of the moonbeams, “do you really desire to know who is the happiest fairy? Then come with us.”
Luna found herself floating through the air by the side of the moonbeam, and away they went like the wind over fields and dales and rivers, forests and mountains, until they arrived at the opposite side of the earth. There they swept over great trees which lifted up their heads ridiculously high to catch a glimpse of the stars, and over the green slopes where redolent flowers poured out their beautiful perfumes into the night-air.
And the spot on which they wanted to go was in this beautiful garden: the place which Luna occupied for a whole hour each night. “Do you see that lovely child on the other side of the garden drinking the dew from a coral flower?”
“Yes,” said Luna blushing, “I am like her but she is much prettier.”
“Ah! but if you were to fly about the world as much as she does, you would not be so sweet and white.”
Luna fell to dreaming again, only this time she was in the fairy’s abode, and she saw the lovely figure dancing about in the gloom, and conveying her sweet perfume all about the world, sleeping the while in a sea of dew. The sun rose and Luna at once opened her eyes, pulled the curtain aside, and saw her get out of the bed of blossoms, yet she was thinking of nothing but the duty she had to perform: so she put her coral chalice well up into the air, in order that the sun’s rays might dry all the dew which was still in it.
The next night at the same hour, little Luna came back, but this time she had heard nothing about the happiest fairy in the world. She sat and waited till midnight sounded; then she stretched her arms out towards Heaven and cried:
“Mina! Mina! lovely fairy, do tell me who is the happiest fairy of you all?”
“That is just what I cannot tell you; you must seek her.–Mina, come out.”
A moonbeam fell into Luna’s hair and turned it all to silver grey. “Alas!” she cried, when she saw her look in the little mirror made of shining dew. “Do waste no more tears, they are too precious to be wasted, open your window and we shall see who is the happiest of all the fairies.”
She snatched open her window, and in flew Mina, and all the other moonbeams just behind her–and all the stars, which had nothing to light them, but had rolled down to the earth to help to give away a joy.
And such a merry scene as they made in Luna’s little room. The moonbeams rebuilt the earth, while the stars danced and sang and cheered, “The happiest of all fairies is Luna, who believes that each one of us is the happiest and the most amiable. Now we must fly away to all the countries of the earth to scatter her joy.”