Midnight Mischief Club

Who Keeps Ringing the Moon?

← About this story
Freshly poured tea waits while Pebble opens the clubhouse door under its little silver crescent-moon bell and finds nobody.
Moth and Pebble had just poured their tea when the moon rang. It was the little silver moon above their clubhouse door. “A visitor!” He opened the door. Nobody stood outside.
The bell rings again; Moth darts to the window while Pebble flings the same door wide, and a narrow blue ribbon slips across the top of the frame.
They sat down. Ding-ding! Moth darted to the window. Pebble flung the door wide. Still nobody. Only a narrow blue ribbon slipped past the top of the frame.
Moth points out the bell cord pulled upward while one silver paper star lands on Pebble’s nose.
“Our bell cord is going up.” Usually it hung down. Tonight it stretched toward the roof. A silver paper star fluttered onto Pebble's nose. “A very small visitor, perhaps.”
They follow the blue ribbon along gutter and over wall into the glowing night market of buttons, buns and impossible umbrellas.
They followed the blue ribbon along the gutter and over the wall. It vanished above the night market, where lanterns bobbed over stalls of buttons, buns and impossible umbrellas.
Mister Button stares at his empty hook while blue scraps and silver stars on the counter connect his escaped sky-whale to the children’s clues.
Mister Button was staring at an empty hook. Blue scraps and silver stars covered his counter. “My sky-whale has escaped! I was mending its tail, and a gust took it.”
Pebble asks about doorbells; the ribbon tightens and two large paper fins nod above the clubhouse chimney in the distance.
“Does your whale ring doorbells?” “Not on purpose.” Ding-ding! The ribbon tightened. Above the clubhouse chimney, two enormous paper fins nodded in the wind.
A higher view reveals the paper sky-whale kite: one blue tail has looped around the moon-bell cord so the wind pulls the bell.
The sky-whale was a kite. Its tail had tangled around the moon's cord. Every gust pulled the bell, while their visitor stayed high above their heads. “We've been looking in the wrong place!”
Pebble steadies the cord, Mister Button winds the loose ribbon and Moth flies to lift one paper fin clear of the chimney brick.
Pebble held the bell cord steady. Mister Button wound in the loose ribbon. Moth flew to the chimney and lifted one paper fin clear of the brick. The kite slid free.
The freed paper whale floats into the doorway from side to side; Pebble bows while Moth gestures to fold its long tail.
Down it floated, filling the doorway from side to side. Pebble bowed. “At last. Do come in.” “Perhaps fold the tail first.”
The sky-whale is safely spread across the ceiling above three cups; its silver stars shine over the friends’ resumed tea.
They spread the sky-whale across the ceiling, safely away from the bell. Mister Button stayed for tea. Its silver stars shone above their cups. “An excellent place for a whale to rest.”
Moth and Pebble look up, then down to a small beetle on the step holding exactly three warm buns; Mister Button waits at the tea table.
There was a knock at the door. Moth and Pebble looked up, then down. A beetle stood on the step with three warm buns. “That's much more convenient.”

Downloads for grown-ups

The complete story to read, listen to and keep.

PDF edition ↓

EPUB edition ↓

Complete read-aloud ↓

Your reading place is saved on this browser when storage is available.