Laki, the Man in the Moon
Article By Raphae
One there lived a couple in the mountains. They had a son whose name was Laki. Laki was boy of thirteen who was not ugly nor handsome. But this boy was very ambitous of being handsome and tall at the same time. One day, while Laki was playing with the animals of the forest and the birds, a “duende” (dwarf) appeared before him. The “duende” are believed to have the power of transforming man into any form they wanted. Struck by the loveliness of Laki and his kindness to the animals around him, the "duende" asked him what he wanted to be. And Laki replied that he wished to be tall and large and handsome. So the “duende” transformed Laki to the form, the later wished himself to be. Afterwards Laki went to a nearby pond and looked at himself. He was very much surprised at seeing a very handsome boy on the pond – this was his image. When he went home, his parents were surprised at seeing the tall, handsome boy – they could not believe the boy at first but the boy explained the matter.
Years later, the people of the moon happened to need a king. They wanted a king who was tall and handsome. And Laki was seen by the people of the moon, so they asked him to be their king. Laki with sadness accepted the offer.
He left the earth on a charlot of solid gold drawn by four white horses. For many years until at present, Laki is on the moon as the ruler of the people there. And at every half and quarter moon, he shows himself in the form of a profile at the interior arc to the people of the earth.