Selfish Tree

Once upon a time, there was a lonely tree that always wished to be the moon.

He envied her because she could move wherever she wanted, change her size, shape, and color whenever she wished... she could see everything all at once.

But one night, the lonely tree cried so hard that a beautiful, sparkling, shining star passed over the horizon. In that moment, the tree wished aloud for the moon to disappear. "If she goes away, I could be the moon," he thought selfishly.

The days passed quickly, and soon, the moon vanished... no one saw her, no one noticed, nobody was there when she faded away.

"Now, I'll be the moon," the tree said. "I'll be more gorgeous than anyone because I'm the moon. I can stay as long as I want, see everything in a blink, for I am the moon."

But it was all in vain... no one could take the moon's place; they were not worthy to be her. The night grew so dark, like a black hole. The stars were still there when everyone needed them, but their shine wasn't enough to fulfill the moon's role.

The lonely, jealous, and now sorrowful tree felt guilty and alone. No one wanted to be near him... they knew what he had done.

He began to cry again, as hard as he could. No one was there to hug him, to console him—no one, because he had been a bad tree.

A star was trying to sleep, but the tree's sorrows held her back. As she passed before his eyes, the tree wished desperately for the moon to return as soon as possible, but instead, the star tricked him.

"Because you have been selfish and jealous, I will punish you. Every year from September to May, all the trees in the world will lose their leaves. During winter, you will feel the cold, and in summer, your leaves will dry up if you don't get enough water, and you might even die. The moon will shine again, brighter than ever, but she will only stay in the sky for a few hours, not as long as she used to, and when she leaves, she will do so without saying goodbye."

The tree nodded in regret, and the next day, the moon reappeared, surrounded by an unexpected ring of light, shining more brightly than she ever had before.

And so, that is the story of winter, fall, spring, and summer, and why we have eclipses, and why the moon only stays during the night... all because of one selfish tree.