Reading Notes: Origins, "The Man in the Moon"

Moon, source: Flickr

Notes: 
The Man in the Moon: There was once a man who grew tired of his normal life and wanted to do something else. He consulted a wise man who, "had power over all things." He first became a stone, but ended up being sliced by a stone cutter, so he wished to be the stone cutter. As a stone cutter, he got tired and his feet were sore, and he decided he would rather be the sun. As the sun, he grew too hot, and then he said he wanted to be the moon, so the wise man finally turned him into the moon. After all these changes, the man decided that he wanted to return to his original form and original job, but the wise man said that he would not do so, as the man had changed so many times. The story here is about not taking what you have in your life for granted and being thankful for your life. After trying all these different things, he wanted desperately to be what he was originally, but was now stuck in a role that he didn’t want. The other theme in the story is you always want what you can’t have, but once you have it, you realize it's not what you thought it would be.

Bibliography:

          Fleeson, Katherine N., The Man in the Moon, Mythfolklore