"Grandpa, what was that you taught me about the way the moon faces?"
"Ah, yes—when the horns/tips of the moon point west, it's waxing, and when they point east, it's waning."
The boy scratched his head. "But I don't know where east and west are. How can I find out?"
"Well, have you ever noticed where the sun rises?"
"That way!" the boy replied, pointing to the horizon with his little finger.
The old man clapped. "Very good, kiddo! Now make a T with your arms and make sure your right arm points to where the sun rises."
The boy turned a little, following his grandfather's instructions attentively. "That's east."
"That's it? I don't have to wet my finger and hold it up?"
"No, that’s to find out where the wind is coming from."
"Okay," said the boy, a little embarrassed. "What else do I have to do now?"
"Keep your arms up, look straight ahead, and pay attention: in front of you is north, behind you is south, and to your left is west."
"And that's it? How cool! Now I know how to get to the North Pole!"
"Yeah! But now it’s time to go east."
"Why east?"
"Because that's where your bed is."
@Coral very cute story and perfectly written!
@elAmericanoTranquilo. Thank you! We have a kind of saying to tell if the moon is waxing or waning. It rhymes so it's easy to remember.
"Cuernos a levante, cuarto menguante. Cuernos a poniente, cuarto creciente."
In German, the word for „to wane“ is „abnehmen" which begins with “a”, and the word for "to waxe“ is „zunehmen" begins with “z”. The left side of a cursive German "a" is shaped like the waning moon, and the right side of an old German "z" (Sütterlin script) is shaped like the waxing moon, which makes it easy to remember.
Yes, this was a cute story. The grammar was perfect. I was wondering how old this kid was.
That's a really clever mnemonic, @CloudyDe. Sütterlin script looks beautiful. ( When I was a student, I was obssesed with my handwriting and used a fountain pen for years.) Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for reading, @T-Newfields. The boy should be old enough to know what the North Pole is and young enough to still be interested in the Santa thing.