Tell Me a Story

By Leigh Kimmel

Storytelling is as old as humanity. Given the importance of reading to children in their intellectual development, it is certain that we will take the storytelling tradition with us into space as we build permanent settlements beyond Earth.

As one generation after another take a beloved childhood story further from Earth, it is seen in new ways by children for whom the pre-spaceflight view of the Moon is increasingly alien.

Originally published in the anthology Rocket Science, edited by Ian Sales.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Starship Cat Press
• Release date: Feb 16, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215824849

Book preview

Time for bed, Reggie.

The bedroom window curtains had been pulled back to let a cool sea breeze in. The full moon shone bright over the roofs of Salem and the Atlantic Ocean beyond.

Although reluctant to break away from moongazing, Reggie knew there could be no arguing with his father. George Waite's Army career might've been cut short by a jeep accident in Vietnam, but he could still manhandle a difficult child to bed.

And if Reggie didn't fuss or sulk, his dad might just tell him a bedtime story. Maybe some bit of mischief from the old man's West Point days, or a tale out of myth and legend. So Reggie pulled himself away from the allure of Earth's natural satellite and crawled under the covers.

Tonight his father had brought a book called The Astronaut and the Man in the Moon. Reggie admired the fluid watercolor illustrations of the little house of moonbeams on the gleaming shores of the Sea of Tranquillity where the Man in the Moon dwelt, living on moon pies and silvery moon tea.

By contrast, the Astronaut and his lunar module were drawn in sharp, careful ink, reminiscent of the architectural renderings Reggie's dad did. As the Astronaut landed and emerged for his moonwalk, the lunar surface transformed from the dreamlike watercolor landscape to the sharp craters familiar from the Apollo photographs that adorned the walls of Reggie's room. And when the Astronaut encountered the Man in the Moon, the little house of moonbeams melted away into mist, leaving only the Astronaut to return to his lunar module, trying to decide if he'd seen anything or dreamed it all.

Reggie blinked back the tears welling up in his eyes, told his father thanks for reading such a neat story. But his voice caught midway through and he couldn't get the words