Night Time Story: The Sleepy Cat and the Moon

Luna was not like other cats in the neighborhood. While they chased mice and napped in sunny spots, Luna spent her nights staring at the moon.

“Why do you waste time looking at something you can never reach?” the other cats would ask, licking their paws with smug faces.

Luna would simply twitch her tail and continue gazing upward. From her favorite perch on the rooftop, the moon seemed close enough to touch. In her dreams, Luna leaped from star to star, her paws barely touching their silvery surfaces before bounding to the next one.

Every night, Luna practiced jumping higher and higher. She jumped from the floor to the table, from the table to the bookshelf, and from the bookshelf to the top of the wardrobe. Her owner, a kind old woman named Ms. Maple, watched with amusement.

“Such a silly cat,” Ms. Maple would say, not unkindly. “Always jumping and looking at the sky.”

One special night, as Luna sat on the roof, the moon seemed bigger and brighter than ever before. It hung low in the sky, almost touching the tops of the trees.

“Tonight,” Luna decided, her whiskers tingling with excitement. “Tonight I will reach the moon.”

She crouched low, her tail swishing back and forth. She measured the distance with her eyes, took a deep breath, and leaped with all her might.

To her surprise, Luna felt herself flying higher than ever before. The wind rushed through her fur as she soared past treetops, past birds’ nests, and into the clouds.

“I’m flying!” she meowed with joy. Below her, the town looked like a collection of tiny toys. Above her, the stars winked as if cheering her on.

Higher and higher she flew until she reached the moon. It wasn’t made of cheese as some mice had claimed. Instead, it was a vast playground of silver dust and twinkling stones.

And Luna wasn’t alone. Other cats were there – dreamers like herself who had made the great leap. They chased moonbeams and batted at passing comets.

“Welcome, Luna,” they called. “We’ve been watching you. We knew you’d make it someday.”

All night long, Luna played among the stars. She napped on soft moon dust and chased shooting stars until the sky began to lighten with dawn.

“Time to go home,” a wise old silver cat told her. “But you can return any night you wish. Just believe, and jump.”

Luna floated gently back to her rooftop, tired but happy. When the neighborhood cats gathered to nap in the morning sun, they noticed something different about Luna. Her fur seemed to shimmer with stardust, and her eyes reflected the light in a new way.

“Where were you last night?” they asked. “We didn’t see you on your usual roof.”

Luna stretched lazily and smiled a secret smile. “I was jumping on the moon,” she said.

The cats laughed and rolled their eyes. All except for one small kitten with wide, wondering eyes.

“Can you teach me how to jump that high?” the kitten whispered.

Luna looked at the kitten and saw herself – the same dreams, the same longing in her eyes.

“Watch the moon,” Luna told her. “Practice your jumps. And most importantly, believe you can do it.”

That night, two cats sat on the roof, gazing at the moon. And somewhere up above, the stars twinkled a little brighter, waiting for dreamers brave enough to make the leap.

ByCeleste Whiskerton