--- title: The Mother Moon — The man who married the moon, and other Pueblo I… · full text with trees description: The Mother Moon, «The man who married the moon, and other Pueblo Indian folk-stories» by Charles Fletcher Lummis: the whole chapter, every sentence with its dependency tree and pragmatics. It begins: AND do you know why it is that the Moon has but one eye? --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg77804/11/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [tales](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/) / [The man who married the moon, and othe…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg77804/) / The Mother Moon # The Mother Moon The Mother Moon of «The man who married the moon, and other Pueblo Indian folk-stories» by Charles Fletcher Lummis: the whole text, 35 sentences and 613 words. The small number after every sentence leads to its own page with its syntax tree and pragmatics, parsed by Mova itself. AND do you know why it is that the Moon has but one eye?[1](1/ "tree and pragmatics") It is a short story, but one of the most poetic and beautiful in all the pretty folk-lore of the Pueblos.[2](2/ "tree and pragmatics") P’áh-hlee-oh, the Moon-Maiden, was the Tée-wahn Eve\[39\]--the first and loveliest woman in all the world.[3](3/ "tree and pragmatics") She had neither father nor mother, sister nor brother; and in her fair form were the seeds of all humanity--of all life and love and goodness.[4](4/ "tree and pragmatics") The Trues, who are the unseen spirits that are above all, made T’hoor-íd-deh, the Sun, who was to be father of all things; and because he was alone, they made for him a companion, the first to be of maids, the first to be a wife.[5](5/ "tree and pragmatics") From them began the world and all that is in it; and all their children were strong and good.[6](6/ "tree and pragmatics") Very happy were the Father-all and the Mother-all, as they watched their happy brood.[7](7/ "tree and pragmatics") He guarded them by day and she by night--only there \_was\_ no night, for then the Moon had two eyes, and saw as clearly as the Sun, and with glance as bright.[8](8/ "tree and pragmatics") It was all as one long day of golden light.[9](9/ "tree and pragmatics") The birds flew always, the flowers never shut, the young people danced and sang, and none knew how to rest.[10](10/ "tree and pragmatics") \[39\] She is honored in almost every detail of the Pueblo ceremonials.[11](11/ "tree and pragmatics") The most important charm or implement of the medicine-men, the holiest fetish of all, is typical of her.[12](12/ "tree and pragmatics") It is called Mah-pah-róo, the Mother, and is the most beautiful article a Pueblo ever fashioned.[13](13/ "tree and pragmatics") A flawless ear of pure white corn (a type of fertility or motherhood) is tricked out with a downy mass of snow-white feathers, and hung with ornaments of silver, coral, and the precious turquoise.[14](14/ "tree and pragmatics") But at last the Trues thought better.[15](15/ "tree and pragmatics") For the endless light grew heavy to the world’s young eyes that knew no tender lids of night.[16](16/ "tree and pragmatics") And the Trues said:[17](17/ "tree and pragmatics") “It is not well, for so there is no sleep, and the world is very tired.[18](18/ "tree and pragmatics") We must not keep the Sun and Moon seeing alike.[19](19/ "tree and pragmatics") Let us put out one of his eyes, that there may be darkness for half the time, and then his children can rest.”[20](20/ "tree and pragmatics") And they called T’hoor-íd-deh and P’áh-hlee-oh before them to say what must be done.[21](21/ "tree and pragmatics") But when she heard that, the Moon-Mother wept for her strong and handsome husband, and cried:[22](22/ "tree and pragmatics") “No\![23](23/ "tree and pragmatics") No\![24](24/ "tree and pragmatics") Take my eyes, for my children, but do not blind the Sun\![25](25/ "tree and pragmatics") He is the father, the provider--and how shall he watch against harm, or how find us game without his bright eyes?[26](26/ "tree and pragmatics") Blind me, and keep him all-seeing.”[27](27/ "tree and pragmatics") And the Trues said: “It is well, daughter.”[28](28/ "tree and pragmatics") And so they took away one of her eyes, so that she could never see again so well.[29](29/ "tree and pragmatics") Then night came upon the tired earth, and the flowers and birds and people slept their first sleep, and it was very good.[30](30/ "tree and pragmatics") But she who first had the love of children, and paid for them with pain as mother’s pay, she did not grow ugly by her sacrifice.[31](31/ "tree and pragmatics") Nay, she is lovelier than ever, and we all love her to this day.[32](32/ "tree and pragmatics") For the Trues are good to her, and gave her in place of the bloom of girlhood the beauty that is only in the faces of mothers.[33](33/ "tree and pragmatics") So mother-pale above us She bends, her watch to keep, Who of her sight dear-bought the night To give her children sleep.[34](34/ "tree and pragmatics") X[35](35/ "tree and pragmatics") - ← previous: [The Man Who Married the Moon](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg77804/10/) - next →: [The Maker of the Thunder-knives](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg77804/12/) - ↑ back to [The man who married the moon, and other Pueblo Indian folk-stories](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg77804/)