Moon Dreams

Chapter Twelve

That night Chips and Charley both had a dream about traveling to the moon in a rocket. The following is a description of the dreams:

Charley's Dream

Charley dreamed that he was going to be the first grasshopper in outer space. They put him on the end of a wand and blew a bubble around him. Surrounded by the bubble, he floated through the rocket as it traveled through space. The astronauts smiled at him as he floated past and even blew him around for fun.

A door on the rocket was opened so that the astronauts could do some experiments in the space outside. When they were busy working, Charley floated through the window. At first, it was exciting to be floating in the space far above the earth, but soon Charley began to worry. Nobody knew he was out there floating further and further from the rocket.

"Oh no," he thought. "I am going to float through empty space forever. I will never see the Blackberry Forest again. Nor will I see Chips or William or Rocky or Rhonda ever again. Oh I must get back!"

He kept floating further and further away. What was he to do? He could not get the bubble to move in the direction he wanted to go. All he could do was shout, so he shouted as loudly as he could, but the astronauts could not hear him.

Because he was so scared, he got the hiccups, and he hit the side of the bubble and made it go in the direction towards the rocket. As more hiccups came, his bubble traveled along in the same way. Soon he was near the rocket again.

Seeing him, one of the astronauts said, "Oh, there you are." Then she pulled him into the rocket.

Charley was so relieved.

He thought, "Outer space is wonderful, but I never want to leave the Blackberry Forest. I would be lost without my home."

Chips' Dream

Chips dreamed that the rocket landed on the moon. He was wearing a special space suit, so he was allowed to be out of the rocket. When he hopped, he went up very high, much higher than he had ever hopped on earth. He felt so light and free. It was wonderful.

"I feel like a butterfly. It is like flying!"

Chips just hopped further and further from the rocket. He did not care. He could go on like this forever.

The rocket was no longer in sight, but Chips kept hopping and feeling no concern. He saw a speck of light in the dark sky. It came closer and closer. Soon he saw that the speck was two bright wings. It was Spirit, the butterfly.

"What are you doing here?" asked Chips.

"I flew up here from the earth," she answered.

"Isn't that an awfully long trip for a butterfly?"

"It did not seem so, though I pay little attention to time and space when I am flying. I just think about how wonderful it feels."

"I feel that feeling too, Spirit. I could stay here and hop forever."

"It's rather nice here, but I would not want to stay forever Chips."

"Why not?"

"There are no flowers, or trees, or deer, or friends, or waterfalls, or fountains."

"Yes, I guess I would miss all that after awhile, but if I went back to earth, I would miss this free and wonderful feeling even more."

"Oh, that feeling can be had back on earth."

"Well, you feel it because you can fly. I can only hop so high on earth."

"That feeling is on earth for anyone. You just have to know how to find it."

Spirit laughed and flew away.

Chips looked up at the sky to find her, but all he could see was the big blue earth. It became bigger and bigger until Chips could reach out and tough it. He felt warm, safe, and content. He was surrounded by the softness of his bed. As he snuggled under the covers, he felt happy to be back home.