uld no longer turn her eyes away from the
face of the Moon. For because she was so good and pure and innocent, she
had won the love of the Moon, who desired to fulfil her secret longings
and the wish of her heart. But the pious maiden cherished but one wish
in her heart, which she could not venture to express or to ask the Moon
to fulfil, for she longed to depart from this world and to dwell for
ever beneath the sky with the Moon, but the Moon knew the unexpressed
thoughts of her heart.

It was again a lovely evening. The air was calm and peaceful, and again
the song of the nightingale resounded through the night. The Moon gazed
down once more into the depths at the bottom of the river near the
Vaskjala Bridge, but no longer alone as before. The fair face of the
maiden gazed down with him into the depths, and has ever since been
visible in the Moon. Above in the far sky she lives in joy and
contentment, and only desires that other maidens might share her
happiness. So on moonlight nights her friendly eyes gaze down on her
mortal sisters, and she seeks to invite them as her guests. But none
among them is so pure and modest and innocent as herself, and therefore
none is worthy to ascend to her in the Moon. Sometimes this troubles the
maiden in the Moon, and she hides her face sorrowfully in a black veil.
Yet she does not abandon all hope, but trusts that on some future day
one of her earthly sisters may be found sufficiently pious and pure and
innocent for the Moon to call her to share this blessed life. So from
time to time the Moon-maiden gazes down on the earth with increasing
hope and laughing eyes, with her face unveiled, as on the happy evening
when she first looked down from heaven on the Vaskjala Bridge. But the
best and most intelligent of the daughters of earth fall into error and
wander into by-paths, and none among them is pious and innocent enough
to become the Moon's companion. This makes the heart of the pious
Moon-maiden sorrowful again, and she turns her face from us once more,
and hides it under her black veil.

[Footnote 21: According to Jannsen, the forest which once surrounded the
river Vaskia, which flows through a village of the same name near Revel,
was formerly sacred to a goddess named Vaskia.]

THE WOMAN IN THE MOON.

(JANNSEN.)

One Saturday evening a woman went very late to the river to fetch water.
The Moon shone brightly in the heavens, and she said to him, "Why do you
stand ga