Stories of the Stars
This fic is based off a story I heard when I was in the sixth grade and the entire class went to a camp in the mountains for a week. The counselor adapted the story from several different myths, but I enjoyed it and I hope you do too.
Disclaimer: Still don't own these characters. *Sigh*
The peach sailed softly through the night sky. The stars, posed in their numerous patterns, shone down on the strange airship like guiding lights. James sat on the fence that encircled the peach, gazing up at the stars as if in hope to find the particular guiding light that would lead him to his dreams.
Though it was quite late (late for a boy James's age anyway), he didn't feel sleepy. Instead, his mind remained focused on everything he'd seen and experienced during the past few days. A giant peach, adult-sized, talking bugs, a metallic shark, skeleton pirates; it was a lot to take in. Not to mention that, no matter what his friends said, he was still fearful of meeting up with his aunts again. James had no doubt that if Spiker and Sponge managed to locate him, every punishment they had given him in the past would be a walk in the park compared to what they would do to him. And it was the combination of all these heavy thoughts that was keeping the small boy from sleep.
"James? What are you doing awake/" James started and looked up to see Mr. Grasshopper walking toward him. A tremor of fear ran through James, as it did whenever his aunts had turned their attention to him. But the look of concern in his friend's eyes eased James's fear just as quickly as it had come.
"I couldn't sleep," he answered truthfully as Mr. Grasshopper sat down beside him.
"Do you feel alright?" James nodded. Mr. Grasshopper gave the boy a reassuring smile and slipped an arm around him. James leaned against Mr. Grasshopper, feeling a bit better.
"If there's something on your mind, dear boy, feel free to tell me." James bit his lip, unsure of what to say.
"I… I don't know." But Mr. Grasshopper nodded.
"This whole journey is a lot to take in, I know. But you've held up so well, my boy. You have much to be proud of."
James smiled a bit at the praise, but his unease didn't lessen He glanced back at the stars, his brown eyes lacking the shine that had been there earlier that day. The elder insect watched the little boy with a mix of fondness and concern. The poor child was exhausted, but was clearly unnerved by something (and Mr. Grasshopper had a pretty good idea of what that something was). He drummed the fingers of a lower hand against the fence as he too looked to the stars under which the two were sitting hoping for inspiration. The answer came to him quickly: the stars.
He frowned; which tale to tell? James was a little too young to be hearing about Taurus or Orion. Hmmm, would Cassiopeia do? Perhaps. Mr. Grasshopper recalled hearing a more child-friendly story of the queen some time ago (and by a human, no less). Yes, James would like this one.
"Tell me, James, do you know of the stories about the stars?" James glanced up at Mr. Grasshopper, curiosity written all over his face.
"Stories about the stars?"
"Oh, yes. Some of the greatest tales in history come from the constellations. Would you like to hear one?" James smiled more fully this time (an encouraging sign) and nodded.
"Well," began Mr. Grasshopper, "many years ago, in ancient Greece, there lived a queen named Cassiopeia. Now, Cassiopeia, wasn't a particularly good-looking woman, but, sadly, she was quite vain."
"What does vain mean?" James asked.
"It means you have a high opinion of yourself. People who are vain are usually concerned with how they look."
James recalled his preening aunts; 'vain' seemed written with them in mind. The small boy imagined that Cassiopeia would look something like Spiker and Sponge. "Was Cassiopeia a nice queen?"
"I'm afraid not, James. You see, she was so concerned about her appearance that she commanded her subjects to build statues and paint pictures of her all day long. So, not only did the people of Greece have to look at their living queen, they had to see pictures of her everywhere they looked and all the while, Cassiopeia ignored their problems and concerns. The queen even told her subjects that she was even more lovely than Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty."
James blinked and rubbed at his eyes, starting to feel a little sleepy now. "What did the people do?"
Mr. Grasshopper allowed the boy to lean against him as he continued the tale. "The people called out to the many gods and goddesses who lived on Mount Olympus. The gods and goddesses listened and agreed to help.
"They sent Hermes, the messenger god, to Cassiopeia. Hermes told the queen that she was so lovely that the gods wanted to place an image of her face, made out of stars, in the night sky after she died."
"But then people would still have to look at her," James said, his brow furrowing in confusion.
"Smart boy. And that is exactly what the people of Greece said. But those on Mt. Olympus weren't finished the queen yet. The goddesses were particularly insulted and were determined to teach her a lesson." James stifled a yawn, blinking a little harder this time.
"What did they do next?"
"Hermes returned some time later. This time, he told Cassiopeia that the gods were so struck by her beauty that they wanted to put her whole body in the stars, not just her face. And Cassiopeia, naturally agreed.
"Meanwhile, the people of Greece went on painting pictures and carving statues of the conceited queen, but now they could tell the gods were up to something and waited."
"Did Hermes come again?" Mr. Grasshopper smiled at James.
"He most certainly did, my boy. Hermes approached the queen one last time. This time, he said that the gods decided that they would put a throne in the stars as well. That way, everyone would see that Cassiopeia was a queen, even after she died."
"Did the gods really put a throne in the stars, Mr. Grasshopper?"
"Yes. Look there." Mr. Grasshopper pointed out a trio of stars just in front of where he and James were sitting. "That triangle is Cassiopeia's throne."
James sat up a bit, observing the constellation with interest.
"But it's upside-down," he noted.
"Indeed it is. Do you know why?" This time, James could not stifle his yawn before asking,
"Why?"
Mr. Grasshopper carefully took the small boy in his arms, allowing James to rest his head against his shoulder.
"The gods tricked Cassiopeia," he explained as he carried James back up the fence toward the entrance into the pit. "They placed her throne upside-down so that when Cassiopeia died and went to sit on her throne, she fell out. It took her a full day to get back into the sky, but when she tried to sit down, she fell out again. To this day, James, that foolish queen keeps trying to sit in the stars, but she will never succeed, as she is blinded by her own vanity."
Sleep was fast overtaking James, but he managed one last question.
"Did the people in Greece live happily ever after?" Mr. Grasshopper held James as close as he could without waking him before answering,
"Yes they did, my dear, dear boy. They lived happily ever after. Just like we will."