One evening, Zuzu the possum stood by Still Pond. She waited on the flat stone with Tam, Coco, and Juno.
Zuzu held her little basket close. She checked it three times. It held a cup, a napkin, and a spoon.
They had come for round oat cakes. The moon was round too. It shone in the pond like a pale button.
Zuzu kept peeking at it.
Tam waved one oat cake. "Catch the moon before it floats away," said Tam.
Zuzu gasped and checked her basket again. Then she held up her spoon.
Coco the moth fluttered near her ear. "What are you doing, Zuzu?" squeaked Coco.
"I am waiting for the moon to sit still," whispered Zuzu.
"I can help, I can help," said Juno.
Juno brought a big leaf. Tam brought a soup bowl. Coco brought a tiny thimble.
Juno dipped first. Rings ran across the pond. The moon broke into wiggly bits.
Tam dipped his bowl. More rings ran out.
Coco dipped her thimble. Plip. The moon shook like jelly.
Zuzu did not dip her spoon.
She checked it three times, but very slowly. She gave one slow look. She gave two slow looks. She gave three slow looks.
Then she held the spoon over the water.
"I am waiting for the moon to sit still," she said.
So Tam held still. Juno held still. Coco held still.
The rings grew faint. Then they were gone.
The pond lay smooth and dark. A bright curved moon sat in Zuzu's spoon. The pond held one too.
Zuzu smiled. "Now the moon is still enough for snack," she said.
They ate oat cakes together on the flat stone. Crumbs fell softly on the napkin.
Night settled around them. The moon stayed quiet in the pond.
That is why, on a still night, a pond may hold a little spoon moon before bed.
Zuzu checked once more: cup, napkin, moon.