The Rescue of the Moon

Young Habla was as good-natured as a lamb and as clever as a calf. When an idea for action came to him, he acted instantly without a second thought.

He often saw anglers in his village regularly catching fish from the lake, which inspired him to try his luck. Habla crafted a fishing rod but was afraid to use it in front of others, worried that he might fail to catch any fish and become the laughingstock of the village. Thus, he decided to practice under the cover of night.

On a moonlit night, as he made his way toward the lake, he happened to pass by a well. “A fish is a fish, whether from a lake or a well. Better I begin with the well,” he thought, leaning over to look inside. What caught his attention was the beautiful reflection of the moon shimmering in the water.

“Good God! What happened to our old moon? How could it fall into the well?” he wondered. Driven by curiosity and a sense of duty, he decided to rescue it. He tossed the line of his fishing rod into the well, intending to hook the moon and lift it out. However, the hook became snagged on the rocky bottom.

With all his strength, he pulled the rod, and when the hook finally came free, he unexpectedly fell flat on his back. To his astonishment, the moon shone down upon him as if thanking him for his efforts. “Thank God! With just one pull, I catapulted the moon right back into the sky!” he exclaimed, congratulating himself on his unlikely success.

His only regret was that nobody had witnessed his extraordinary feat. How would anyone know how he had rescued the moon?