Luna woke with a start. She had the feeling that she was falling in her sleep. She sat upright and rubbed her eyes And she felt Orange Eyes purring softly by her feet.
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The moon shone brightly through her open window, Luna thought it must be the brightest moon she’d ever seen.
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She tip-toed to her window to look for Orion, her favorite constellation. Dad said that constellations are pictures made of stars. The night sky was so clear, Luna felt like she could reach out and grab a star.
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But suddenly, everything went black. As if her open window had curiously turned into a brick wall.
She squeezed her eyes shut, And when she opened them, she was amazed.
The stop sign at the end of the street was floating in midair. Luna’s eyes widened as she looked around.
Everything was floating. The night sky filled with trees, and mailboxes, and garden statues, and bicycles, and other houses. 6
The neighbors dog floated by in a gust of wind and frightened Orange Eyes. He leaped into the air and Luna tried to catch him but it was too late. She had reached too far, and the girl and the cat tumbled out of the window and into the sky.
Luna braced herself for the fall, but she never hit the ground. She too was floating. Luna swam through the air. “Orange Eyes!” she screamed. “We’re flying!” Orange Eyes was afraid, He meowed and clawed at the air.
Soon, they mastered their flying skills and they soared into the clouds. 9
The moon was bigger than it had ever looked. ‘We must be close,’ Luna thought.
They flew up and up and up until their house was the size of an ant and Luna’s fingertips touched the surface of the moon.
“Luna!” a familiar voice called from above. “Welcome! Welcome!”
It was the man on the moon, Luna had heard about him in Mom’s bedtime stories.
He wore a sharp black suit. He had shimmering silver hair and a snazzy mustache.
The man grabbed Luna’s hand and pulled her onto the moon’s surface. He twirled her around and they danced a dazzling waltz. Luna laughed and laughed, Orange Eyes clapped and meowed to the music of the universe.
Luna and the moon man danced until they were too tired to dance anymore. Orange Eyes ran and jumped around the moon trying to catch shooting stars. For the grand finale, the moon man spun Luna gracefully back into space. He gave Orange Eyes a parting pat on the head and tossed him gently after Luna.
They watched as the man on the moon bowed and waved at them from a distance.
Space was magical, but it was time to go home. Luna wouldn’t want Mom and Dad to worry.
The girl and the cat floated home on a cloud and silently climbed back through the bedroom window.
They sat at the windowsill and watched as the house lowered to the ground. The trees and mailboxes and garden statues and bicycles, and other houses returned to their usual positions.
It was time for the world to go to sleep.
Luna went to bed with a racing mind and a full heart.
She had a feeling she would fly again soon.