They sprouted at opposite ends of the garden, so far apart that Sun couldn’t see Moon until she grew over the edge of her untamed planter box. Buried among the bramble by the hillside, it took Sun a long time to spot her pale white face. But once he did, he could not look away.

Round and spectral in her radiance, Moon shone like a beacon in the night. During the day, Sun stared at her, trying to look big and handsome with his bright yellow petal wheel. When the wind blew in her direction, he called to her, to say hello, to tell her how much he loved her. But there were many other plants in the garden, all talking about their love of water, soil, and sunlight, and Sun’s words failed to reach her.

Day after day, Sun stared at Moon, trying to get her attention by waving his leaves, but she never responded. And so, as days turned to weeks, and weeks to months, Sun had no choice but to just admire Moon from afar.

Then one night, with the stars bright in the sky, a fuzzy brown mouse crawled into the garden. As Mouse scooted and scurried about looking for berries and seeds, Sun shouted to her.

“Mouse! Mouse!” said Sun. “Come here, please. I must speak to you!”

With twitching whiskers, Mouse scampered through the bushes until she stood at the base of Sun’s tall, thin stalk.

“Are you speaking to me?” asked Mouse.

Sun bent a branch and pointed across the field, where Moon glowed pale and beautiful, like a celestial goddess in her planter. “I simply must get closer to her. Can you help me?”

Mouse twitched her nose. “I would like to help but I am hungry and have only a short time to scavenge before daybreak.”

Sun fluffed his petals in thought. Finally, he said, “I have buds growing on many of my branches. If you help me get to My Love, I will give you my buds to eat. Then you will not need to hunt.”

The hungry Mouse’s nose twitched again. “I will help in exchange for your buds. What do you want me to do?”

Again, Sun ruffled his petals in concentration. “Dig up the soil,” said Sun. “Then, when it is nice and loose, I can pull with my roots and drag myself to her!”

And so, Mouse dug all around the base of Sun’s stalk. However, the soil was hard and dry with unyielding bedrock just below the surface. It took many hours, but when it was done, Mouse sat back and rubbed her dusty paws.

“Go to Moon,” she said with excitement. “Stretch out and be with her!”

“Wonderful!” said Sun, and reached out with his roots. But unlike his branches, Sun’s roots were not used to moving and could not go far. He stretched and stretched, and yet, pull as he might, he drew no closer to Moon.

“We must try something else!” said Sun.

“It is already late,” said Mouse with a yawn. “The sky will be bright soon, and I have yet to find food for me and my children.”

“Here,” said Sun, and lowered a budding branch. “Take my bud, as promised, so that you may not go hungry. But come back again tomorrow. By then, I will have thought of another way for me to reach My Love.”

With a nod of agreement and another yawn, Mouse plucked the bud from Sun’s branch and tucked it under her paw. Then she scurried off through the bramble, back to her den to feed her children.

***