The Moon That Squeaked: story transcript
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The Moon That Squeaked
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Rook collected space sounds. Meteor whistles! Crater echoes! Once, a pebble had made a noise like a tiny king sneezing. Rook still talked about it. Tova preferred fixing things. She carried a silver oil can, even on walks. Especially on walks.
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One windy afternoon, they crossed a moon where the dust blew sideways. Rook stopped so suddenly Tova nearly bumped into his back. From somewhere ahead came a long, thin squeak. "At last," said Rook. "A sound with a secret!"
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They followed it past three lumpy rocks to a shallow cave. Wind combed the dust across its entrance. Inside, they could see every corner. Nothing moved. "Perhaps it’s hiding," Rook whispered. Tova peered at the cave floor. "I don’t see any tracks."
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Rook stepped forward and raised one arm in a grand greeting. SQUEEE! The noise rang against the cave walls. "It answered!" he said. Tova looked from the empty cave to Rook. He was already planning a grander greeting.
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Rook stretched both arms wide, as if welcoming an entire parade of planets. SQUEEEEE! "It has enormous lungs," he whispered. Tova tilted her head. Rook lowered his arms. Silence. He raised them again. SQUEEEEE! "Very polite lungs," said Rook.
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Next came Rook’s Famous Moon-Hero Pose: one foot on a rock, one arm pointing at the stars. SQUEEEEEEEE! A little dust fell from the cave roof. Rook bowed. SQUEEEEEEEE! Tova held up a finger. "Do the quiet pose."
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Rook stood still, arms at his sides. The cave said nothing. Wind whistled past the entrance, but the squeak was gone. Tova stepped closer and pointed to the segmented joint in Rook’s elbow. "Your grand greetings need a little help."
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Rook bent his arm. Squeak. He straightened it. SQUEAK. He stared at the joint. "Oh." Tova took the oil can from her vest pocket and gave the stiff elbow one careful drop. Rook bent his arm again. Not a peep.
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"No secret cave creature?" Rook asked. "Just one very talented elbow," said Tova. Rook looked into the empty cave. He had hoped for something astonishing. Then he tried his Famous Moon-Hero Pose again. This time it was perfectly, disappointingly quiet.
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On the way home, Rook made his own monster noises through his chest speaker. "GRUMBLE-WOBBLE!" he boomed. Tova jumped, then laughed. "That one has enormous lungs." Rook raised both arms. Not a squeak. "And," he said proudly, "excellent elbows."
