Eden Project

A heart-warming story from Eden’s rainforest: The Lady of the Moon

Snuggle up with a warm drink to read this uplifting winter story.

Once upon a time, on a cold and dark night, the stars shone so brightly it was as if diamonds had been hung from the heavens. This was no ordinary night. Something stirred softly in the shadows and some creature from far, far below rose up, right there in a rainforest, a rainforest in a beautiful bubble structure.

A stillness fell among the many visitors to the rainforest, a moon rose high above the treetops, and a creature that looked like a lady appeared to fly with the moon. She sang a song so wondrous that, for a moment, it seemed as if heaven and earth had joined as one. In this moment the people forgot everything else. But as they looked up at the Lady of the Moon, they knew they would never forget that vision or that feeling.

The lady stopped singing and hovered above them. She looked all around her into the dark night and then she looked upon the people and asked: ‘Tell me, when will this dark night come to an end?’

The small voice of a girl rose up: ‘Is it when the sky changes colour and we first see the sun rising above the horizon?’

‘No…no’ said the lady gently.

Then a woman spoke up and offered: ‘Would it be when the morning star rises in the east just before sunrise?’

Once again the lady shook her head.

Then a small boy spoke up as he was lifted onto his father’s shoulders: ‘The night ends when there is enough light for me to see the lines on the palm of my hand.’

‘Not quite…’ laughed the Lady of the Moon.

After a few more suggestions the people pleaded that she give them the answer. The lady looked at them for a long moment in silence and then spoke: ‘The day will come when we will look at our neighbours, at our enemies and friends, and recognise each one of their faces as a reflection of our own, only then shall we know for sure that the long and dark night we all live in has come to an end.’

And in that moment the people knew they had been granted a wish. As they watched The Lady of the Moon rise up and sing the last of her song before disappearing, they knew that she was not a lady at all, they knew that she was the hope in all their hearts.

This heart-warming story was written by Wendy Taylor, one of our Pollinators at the Eden Project. Read more about Wendy’s role as a Pollinator.

You can watch Wendy ascend in the Rainforest Balloon as the Lady of the Moon and hear her sing as part of our Time of Gifts winter festival during December 2011.

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A Time of Gifts, pollinators, Rainforest Balloon, Rainforest Biome, story