"The moon is so big!" Lin said, pointing it out in the night sky to her "Uncle" Sokka. "It's really pretty, too," she added.
"Did you ever here the story about how the moon became so pretty?" Sokka asked her. They were sitting on Toph's back porch; Sokka was babysitting because Toph had to work overtime. He had been spending a lot of time with the Chief of Police lately, and had always been a strong figure in Lin's life, even if she was only 8.
"No," Lin replied, tilting her head in curiosity. "What happened?"
Well," Sokka began, straightening himself up and putting Lin on his lap. "It's a very long story, but it's all true."
"What happened?" Lin pressed further, excitement in her eyes.
"Once upon a time, there was a very beautiful young princess. She was the most beautiful girl in the entire world. And one day, a brave, handsome, charming prince came to her city. He instantly fell in love with her, and she with him."
"What did they look like?" Lin asked.
"The princess was very special in her looks: despite her youth she had beautiful, white hair. She kept it in an intricate hair style. Her eyes were the brightest, clear blue you can imagine. She had a kind smile. Their skins were a similar shade of handsome brown, not too unlike mine, in fact. The prince, he was a warrior in his tribe, and he had the fiercest wolf tail anyone had ever seen before." Sokka smiled. "He was incredibly good-looking. There isn't a word for how incredibly good-looking he was." He sighed. "But the princess was infinitely more beautiful.
"But sadly, their love could not be."
"What?" Lin asked, outraged.
"The princess ran to the prince, confessing that her father had betrothed her to another whom she did not love. This other man did not love the princess like the prince did, either. But the prince and princess knew they had to find a way.
"Sadly, an evil nation came to attack the princess's city. This city happened to house the spirits of the moon, the spirits that gave the waterbenders their powers. The spirits took the form of two beautiful koi fish.
"The leader of this evil regime killed one of the fish. And that was why the prince and princess couldn't be together."
"Huh?" Lin said, confused. "Couldn't they get another fishy?" She looked very concerned for the fate of the prince and princess.
"This is where it becomes very sad. When the princess was a baby, they thought she might not make it. The moon spirits healed her, they gave her the beautiful white hair I- I mean, the prince loved.
"When the evil leader killed the fish, the princess had to make a sacrifice." Sokka had to pause for a moment. "Because the spirits had given her life, she had to give it back." He could see Lin's eyes start to pool with tears.
"Because the spirit was dead, everything was dark. Only the princess's eyes had color. The prince held her as her own spirit left her body. As the moon spirit, she kissed the prince one last time, saying, 'I'll always be with you.' She then ascended to the sky to take her place among the stars." Lin saw a single tear pour from Sokka's eye. As he wiped it away, he said, "And that's why the moon is so beautiful."
Lin hugged him extra tight, crying. "That's so sad, Uncle Sokka."
He whispered, "I know."
Toph had been listening from behind them since his story started. She remembered hearing the story only in the abridged form from the Ember Island Players, all those years ago. Instead of interrupting their time, the woman of rock wiped a tear from her own face and stepped back into her house.