"The Buried Moon" is an English Fairy Tale collected by Joseph Jacobs and included in his book More English Fairy Tales
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Once Upon a Time in the bogs of England, the Moon rules the night sky, but the nights she does not shine, monsters and other evil things roam and it is too dangerous to go outside. When the Moon learns about this, she wants to see it for herself. However, while on earth, she falls into a pool and gets trapped there by a snag. As she tugs at the root, her cloak falls off her head and her light illumines the forest, scaring away the monsters and helping a lost traveler find his way. As she struggles, she puts the hood back on, thus empowering the monsters. They find her and bury her alive.
For months, the Moon remains trapped there, and the evil things dominate the night. The people of the marsh grow afraid and concerned as they speculate where the Moon could be. The man from before realizes that his strange incident in the woods was the Moon. After seeking counsel from the Wise Woman, the villagers head into the wilderness and rescue the Moon. She returns to her proper place in the sky, and all the monsters flee from the bogs.
The story is in the public domain and can be read here and here.
"The Buried Moon" includes examples of:
- Androcles' Lion: Inverted. The Moon saves the lost traveler, and then he saves her.
- Anthropomorphic Personification: The protagonist is the Moon.
- In the Hood: The Moon explores the human world in a dark cloak. The hood covers her golden hair, thus covering her light and empowering the monsters.
- Swamps Are Evil: Moonlight is the only way people can navigate the Lincolnshire's Carrs at night, (relatively) safe from the assorted nasties that live there.
