Synopsis
Poor Marie! Every night as she climbed into bed, she got a visit from three monsters. They only came out in darkness, so she knew they must be afraid of the light. Marie took a huge pair of scissors, and cutting the moon out of the sky, hung it right in her bedroom. No darkness, no monsters!
Her plan worked perfectly, or so she thought . . . but without a moon in the sky, the village cats were in total darkness! They began bumping into everything, and winding up in the hospital. With no cats to chase them, the mice ran amuck. Finally the king found Marie: "You must return the moon to the sky!" he said. But Marie wouldn't agree—not until she was sure those monsters were gone. How could the king make things right for everyone? A delightful tall tale for bedtime or anytime.
Children's Literature
Marie has fun all day, but the nights are another story. For then, "three of the scariest monsters who ever lived would come out from the shadows" to torture her. One night, Marie decides that the night monsters must be afraid of the light. She decides to bring the moon, which lights up the night, into her room. After she cuts it out of the sky and puts it in a cage over her bed, the monsters no longer bother her. But with the moon missing, cats all over the village have accidents in the dark, while the rascally rats begin to ruin the town. The Cat King negotiates with Marie. For the release of the moon, Marie receives a cat to guard her bed every night. The charming, imaginative story finds appropriate accompaniment in the very simple illustrations that need few details. Black outlines amusingly depict Marie, the melancholy felines, and the happily cavorting rats. The Cat King is properly regal; the three monsters are a multicolored trio of grimacing bullies whose sharply pointed shadows are menacing. The final picture is a peaceful view of a sleeping Marie and a cat with a watching eye open, and the moon back in the sky.