Imagine a place, a very special land, where nighttime was super, super dark. Not just a little dark, but so dark you couldn't even see your own toes wiggling! The people there bumped into things a lot.

One day, four clever young friends from this dark land decided to go on an adventure. They walked and walked, and after a long journey, they came to another land. And guess what? When nighttime came, it wasn't completely dark! High up in a tree, there was a glowing ball, shining a soft, gentle light all around. "Wow!" they whispered. "What is that?"
The people of this land called it "the moon," and they said it cost just a little bit of money to keep it shining.

The four friends thought, "Our people back home would LOVE this!" So, they put their money together, bought the glowing ball, and very carefully, they took it down from the tree. They put it on a cart and pulled it all the way back to their own dark land.

When they got home, everyone was amazed! They hung the glowing moon on a tall oak tree, and suddenly, their nights weren't so dark anymore. Children could play outside a little longer, and nobody bumped their shins on the way to bed. Everyone was so happy!

But, like all people, the four friends grew older. When the first friend knew his time was coming to an end, he said, "I helped bring the light here. I'd like to take a piece of it with me." So, they carefully cut off one quarter of the moon, and he took it with him when he went to the quiet land below where people rest after their lives.

Then the second friend grew old, and he too wanted his share of the light. So, another quarter of the moon went with him. The same happened with the third, and then the fourth friend. Each time, the moon in the oak tree grew smaller and the light in their land grew dimmer.

Down in the quiet land below, things were changing! With each piece of the moon arriving, it got brighter and brighter. The people resting there, who were used to the dimness, started to wake up! They blinked, stretched, and soon they were chatting and even having little parties because it was so cheerful.

Now, all this happy noise floated up, up, up, all the way to the sky where Saint Peter keeps an eye on things. He heard the commotion and thought, "My goodness, what's all that cheerful racket coming from down there? It's usually so peaceful."
He peeked down and saw the bright light and the happy, chattering folks. He saw the problem: the moon was all in pieces down there, and the world above was getting dark again.

So, Saint Peter flew down to the quiet land. He gently gathered up the four pieces of the moon. He was very good at fixing things, so he stuck them all back together, making one beautiful, whole, glowing moon again.
Then, he took the mended moon and hung it high up in the sky, way up high, so it could shine for everyone, all over the world, and even cast a gentle, peaceful glow on the quiet land below.

And that, some people say, is how the moon got its place in the night sky, sharing its lovely light with all of us.

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