Reading Notes: Folklore of Laos A

(The moon, Wikimedia Commons)

The man on the moon. There was a blacksmith who was unhappy with his life and how hot he always was. He went to see the wise man who could help him. The blacksmith decided he wanted to be a stone on the side of the mountain where it was always cool. Unfortunately one day a stone cutter came and picked him and began to cut him. He called the wise man and said he did not want to be a stone anymore. The wise man suggested being a stonecutter himself. The former blacksmith was turned into a stone cutter. Stonecutting is hard work though and the former blacksmith soon became weary walking and seeking suitable stones. He went back to the wiseman and asked to be the sun. The wiseman made him the sun. This was hotter than being the blacksmith so the former blacksmith, stone, and stonecutter called to the wiseman and asked to become the moon. He was granted this wish but soon learned the moon was hotter than being the sun because the sun forever shone on him. He called once more to the wiseman and requested to be a blacksmith, which he had learned was the best job of all. The wiseman answered that he was tired of the man's constant changing and that he was to remain the moon.



Bibliography: Laos Folk-Loreby Katherine Neville Fleeson, with photographs by W.A. Briggs (1899).