“The handle reaches almost down to the ground,” said Rollo.
“Down to the horizon, you mean,” said Jonas.
“Is that the horizon?” said Rollo.
“Yes,” said Jonas, “where the earth and sky meet. Not long ago the Dipper handle was away up there,” he continued, pointing up very high.
“Does the Dipper move?” said Rollo.
“Yes, it goes round and round the North Star, all the time. All the stars that are near the North Star keep going round and round it, once every day.”
“And the rest of the stars,” said Rollo, “do they go round too?”
“Yes,” said Jonas; “only they are so far from the North Star, that they go in larger circles, and so go down below the horizon, and are out of sight sometimes. They come up in the east, like the sun, and go over and down in the west. But they don’t go over straight,” he added. “They don’t come right up straight; and so go directly over. They slant away, off to the south, so as to keep always just so far from the North Star.”
“That’s curious,” said Rollo.