What A Little Moonlight Will Do, Part III

It was the afternoon of the full moon party and the band was waiting for Billie Goat Holiday to start rehearsal.

“Can’t we just start without Billie?” said Buddy Ostrich feeling anxious about their big night.

“We can wait a few more minutes,” said Elephant Gerald.

“I told you Billie wasn’t coming,” said John Cole Crane.

“Now you boys hush up,” Miss Kitty scolded. “You have plenty of time to practice before tonight. Billie is gonna’ be here just like she said she would.”

“I don’t know about that…” said Django Rhinoceros.

Just then Billie walked through the door.

“Don’t know about what, Django?” Billie asked.

“Oh, I uh…don’t know about nothin’…” said Django, embarrassed.

“Well there you are, sunshine!” Miss Kitty said. “I was just saying to the boys that you would be here any minute.”

“I’m sorry I’m late,” said Billie. “Mama packed me a snack in case it gets close to dinner time when we’re done practicing.”

“So she’s going to let you stay until the show tonight?” Elephant Gerald said.

“Well, I told her about the show, but I said I’d be home right after practice so she wouldn’t worry about me walking home in the dark.”

“Well here we go…” said John rolling his eyes.

Miss Kitty scolded John with just the look in her eyes, and he immediately felt bad. “Billie,” she said, “I’ll listen to your beautiful singing for as long as you can stay. It’s all about hanging out together and having fun, right?”

“Yes ma’am,” said Billie, thankful for Miss Kitty’s kindness.

“Great,” said Gerald. “Let’s play!”

Miss Kitty gave the kids papaya-banana shakes and hay biscuits on their breaks as the afternoon waned into the evening hours. The krewe was having so much fun playing that no one noticed the sun had slipped under its cover of trees for the night and the full moon was already rising. A few animals were coming in and sitting at tables.

“We better end here,” said Gerald. “Some people are coming in mighty early.”

Django looked out the window, surprised to see how dark it was getting. He walked over to Miss Kitty and whispered, “Uh, Miss Kitty? Is it really almost dark out? Should we get Billie home?”

“Why look at that! My how time has flown,” Miss Kitty replied. “Now I don’t think we need to worry about Billie. Here’s her mama coming in right now!”

Walking through the door was Billie’s mama and Gerald’s mama, Miss Ella, wearing their Sunday best dresses.

“Mama, what are you doing here?” asked Billie.

“Well, baby, I wondered why you hadn’t come home yet, so I thought you changed your mind. I came to hear you sing at the full moon party!”

“It isn’t even dark yet, Mama, so why would you think I’d stay?”

“Really? You better look outside, sugar.”

Billie took her first look outside since she arrived and all she could see was blackness.

“Oh no, baaa-aaaaa when did it get d-d-dark?” replied Billie.

“Child, it looks like you’ve been having too much fun to notice,” said her mother. “And from what I just heard, your voice sounds like an angel from above. Now that would be a crying shame for your audience not to hear.”

“Well how we supposed to get home in the dark with all those g-g-ghosts and g-g-ghouls out there?”

“Billie, you’ve got the moon to light your way tonight,” said Gerald.

“Yeah,” said Django. “Step outside the door for a minute and see.”

“You s-s-s-sure there’s nothin’ sitting on that porch? Or comin’ out of the s-s-s-swamp right now?”

“With all these people starting to come in?” asked her mother. “There’s too much commotion ‘round here.”

“C’mon,” said John. “Let’s just see if the moon is up yet!”

Billie grabbed her mother’s hoof tightly as they all walked out onto the porch. Over the river, the big, glowing moon had risen as if it were a giant peach. An owl sailed by just over the river and bats were circling around each other to catch their share of bugs swarming in the trees. The reflection on the slow moving river looked like a liquid moon dancing to the sounds of the singing birds. Billie had never seen anything so peaceful and beautiful.

“Now isn’t that a fabulous sight?” said her mama.

“It’s magic, mama!” Billie replied.

“Let’s walk to the water, Billie,” said Gerald. “You’ll see there’s nothing to be afraid of.”

Together Billie walked down to the water with Gerald, Django, Buddy, and John.

“I guess you have to see it to believe it,” said Buddy.

“I don’t see no goblins coming out of the woods,” said Billie.

“No goblins,” said Django.

“And no witch doctors comin’ by boats in the middle of the night?”

“No witch doctors,” said Gerald.

“I don’t care! I’m going home ‘fore a ghost carries me away!” Billie said pouting.

“Ugh!” said John, rolling his eyes and slapping a wing to his forehead.

“Awwww, I’m just foolin’ ya!” said Billie. “Let’s go have us a full moon party!”

Everyone cheered, and she turned red when Gerald gave her a big hug.

By the end of their second set, every table in Miss Kitty’s Playce was full and cheering. The krewe had never played better, and Elephant Gerald was so proud of his band.

“Now for our last song,” Gerald said. “Billie Goat Holiday is going to sing a special tune about the moon. We are sure glad she is here to sing it! Ready Billie?”

“Ready, Gerald!” she said with a wink. “This is called ‘What a Little Moonlight Will Do.’”

And the band started playing…

Ooh, ooh, ooh
What a little moonlight can do
Ooh, ooh, ooh
What a little moonlight can do to you
It’s getting dark
Your hearts flutterin’, the sun’s goin’ down
You’re thinking the ghouls are comin’ to town
But just then the moon comes rising up
And beams at you
Ooh, ooh, ooh
What a little moonlight can do
Wait a while
Till a little moonbeam comes peepin' through
Smilin’ at you
And you’re not afraid
All you'll say
There’s magic in that moon

Ooh, ooh, ooh

Wait a while
Till a little moonbeam comes peepin' through
Smilin’ at you
And you’re not afraid
All you'll say
There’s magic in that moon

Ooh, ooh, ooh

What a little moonlight can do
Ooh, ooh, ooh

The audience cheered, and Billie turned bright red, but so proud of herself.

Gerald whispered in her ear, “Think you will be okay walking home after the show with your mama?”

“With that big bright moon walking with us?” Billie said smiling. “It will scare any ol’ ghoul away. We’ll be just fine, Gerald!”

“Thatta’ girl Billie!” Gerald said and tooted his horn in a long, high note to end the night.

THE END

*Inspired by the Billie Holiday song written by Harry Woods and recorded first in 1935 with the Teddy Wilson Orchestra, Billie Holiday made "What a Little Moonlight Will Do" famous and recorded it many times throughout her life. We took a little liberty in changing the lyrics to fit the story. Hope ya'll can join us for the Elephant Gerald Adventure, coming soon!

 

What A Little Moonlight Will Do, Part II

Billie Goat Holiday was in her bedroom clip-clopping back and forth between her door and the window by her bed. Every time she got to the window she would open the blinds ever so slightly, peek out, and then shut them quickly.

“I am not afraid of the dark…I am not afraid of the dark…I am not…”

“Get to sleep now, baby!” her mother called from behind the closed door.

“Alright, goodnight, Mama!” Billie tried to call out in a calm voice. She shut her light off and went one more time to the window. “Oooooh, it’s dark. That is one little moon out there. It’s not shedding any light that I can see. Miss Kitty says there are no ghosts, no witch doctors, and no ghouls, but how can she tell when it’s so dark?!”

Billie closed the blinds tightly and ran to her bed, pulling the covers up over her face.

A few days later, Billie met everyone at the fishing hole by Miss Kitty’s Playce. Elephant Gerald, Django, and Buddy were on the bank of the river with their fishing poles. John Cole Crane was standing in the middle of the river, intently waiting for a fish to come by.

“Whoo-hooooo!” yelled Gerald, reeling in his fourth fish of the morning. He quickly released it back in so it wouldn’t be out of the water too long.

“Well, that’s just not fair, Gerald!” said John. “Stop hoggin’ all the fish. They’re not even getting to me.”

“That’s because you can’t stop talking,” said Buddy. “You’re scaring them all away from my bait, too!”

“Alright already,” said John. After a long pause he couldn’t stay quiet. “But I’m gonna get the next one…

“Here’s one comin’ right toward me…

“Ya’ll stay away from my fish, now…

Buddy rolled his eyes.

“Watch how us cranes do it…” As the fish approached, John bent down to catch it. Suddenly the fish jumped out of the water, spun around and slapped its tail back and forth on John’s beak. “Squaaaawwwwwwk!” John yelled in disbelief. The fish dove back in the water. Before speeding away, he stuck his head up and spit a fountain of water at John.  “Awwww, me and my big beak!”

“Will you shush?” whispered Django as he felt a tug on his line. But in an instant, that fish was gone too. “Colecrane, you made me lose my fish!”

“I made you…I made you…UGH!” John marched out of the water and stomped up the bank of the river. Billie thought the whole scene was quite funny and started to giggle. When Django’s fish jumped up out of the water right where John had stood, Gerald and Buddy could no longer hold it and started laughing with Billie.

“Laughing at my expense, I see,” John grumbled sitting down on the grass. That made them giggle even louder until Django burst out laughing and rolled on his back, shaking the ground around them.

John started to smile, but pretended he was still angry. “Ya’ll just be quiet! Now, are we still practicing for the full moon party this afternoon?”

“Well yeah!” said Buddy drumming his wings in the air. “I’m as excited as a junebug in May for the full moon party!”

“I have the whole set list of songs done for us already,” said Gerald.

“And Miss Kitty said we can have a rehearsal the afternoon of the party, before we play in front of all those people!” said Django strumming an invisible guitar.

“Billie, can you just come to the rehearsals?” asked Gerald. “I mean, just in case you can make it to the party?”

Billie suddenly became uncomfortable and wished they were still talking about fish. “Uhmm, sure Gerald. I mean, my mama will let me come to the rehearsals and all, but she won’t let me stay too long.”

“Aww, did your mama say you can’t sing at the full moon party?” said Django, feeling sorry for her.

“She, uh, I mean, I’m not sure she’ll be able to come with me that night, so I don’t think I can go.” Billie felt bad about blaming it on her mother, but she just couldn’t tell them her secret fear. She felt her face get red from embarrassment.

“Well you don’t worry about it, Billie,” said John, trying to make her feel better. “It’ll be great to have you at rehearsals!”

Gerald was starting to suspect that the full moon party had nothing to do with Billie’s mama.

“Hey, have ya’ll been watching that moon?” said Gerald. “First there was no moon like Miss Kitty said, then it was a little sliver of a moon. And last night it was a quarter moon. Did you see it?”

“Uh-huh,” said Billie, looking down at her feet. She now had the same routine every night of peeking out the blinds in her bedroom to see the moon changing then jumping in her bed and covering her head.

“It will be a half moon soon,” said Django. “It’s gonna look like a half-eaten powdery beignet. Then I’ll just want to climb a ladder and go eat it.” Django’s big stomach gurgled loudly.

“It’s almost like the moon is our clock every month,” said Buddy smartly. “Like the hands keep moving around on a clock, the light keeps moving on the moon until it’s a big ol’ circle. Then it winds down again until you can’t see it anymore.”

“Yeah?” said Billie, relaxing a little.

“Yeah,” said Gerald. “And each night you see the moon light up the earth a little more, until it’s full. Sometimes the full moon is so bright it’s like the sun is out at night.”

Buddy took two sticks off the ground and drummed on a tree to the perfect beat of a clock: tick-tock-tick-tock-tickity-tockity-tick-tock.

Django bent a branch and tied four reeds to it until they were tight and plucked it like a bass, picking up Buddy’s beat. Gerald blew his horn in short staccato notes. John held the tip of his wing in a small circle making a saxophone noise through his bill.

As Buddy was drumming on the tree he began to sing:

Tick tock tick tock

Follow a month of the moon clock

Tick tock tick tock

The more time goes the brighter it glows

Tick tock tick tock

It waxes as it’s getting grand

Tick tock tick tock

Light moving like a clock hand

There’s a new moon, sliver moon

Quarter moon, half moon

Waiting for that full moon

Blue moon, bright moon

Harvest moon, silver moon

That big old moon is coming soon

(As Billie was listening, she was imagining going to her window each night and staring at the growing moon, with two hands of a clock, getting bigger and brighter.)

Tick tock tick tock

The full moon’s now big and bright

Tick tock tick tock

The earth is lit by a giant light

Tick tock tick tock

The clock is waning down

Tick tock tick tock

‘Til all the light is gone

There’s a new moon, sliver moon

Quarter moon, half moon

Waiting for that full moon

Blue moon, bright moon

Harvest moon, silver moon

That big old moon is coming soon

When Buddy finished singing, they all turned to Billie.

“You see?” Buddy said. “The night isn’t about darkness, or bad things coming out. It’s about the magic of the moon!”

“I guess so,” said Billie.

“Well then, let’s get back to fishing,” said Gerald. “Maybe we can catch Big Ike for John.”

“Aw, I’m tired of fishing in the water,” John said. “Can I use your pole, Gerald?”

“Sure,” said Gerald. “Maybe you can get another fish to wave to you, too!”

“Oh very funny, Gerald.”

When they all settled down to fish again, Billie was singing the Tick-Tock song in her head. She suddenly realized that maybe her friends figured out she was afraid of the dark. Maybe they were just trying to help and it wasn’t something for her to be ashamed of after all.

Join us next week for Part III, and don't forget to be watching that moon!