Soon after this the bamboo-cutter and his wife noticed that the Princess would sit on her balcony and gaze ardently at the moon, after which she would burst into tears. They asked her the reason for this, and she told them that she did not belong to this world, but came from the moon. And on the fifteenth day of this very month her real parents would send for her and she would have to go. It was the thought of leaving her kind foster-parents, and the home in which she had been so happy, that made her weep. This made the old people and the Princess’s attendants very sad, for they all loved her, and the thought of losing her was a great blow to them.
The news soon reached the Emperor, who at once made plans to keep the Princess Moonlight on earth. When the fifteenth day of the month came, he had a guard of many thousands of warriors stationed all around the house, and also on the roof, for it was his intention to make prisoners of the envoys of the moon, and to prevent the taking away of the Princess, whom the bamboo-cutter and his wife had hidden in an inner room.
Orders were given that no one should sleep, and the strictest watch was to be kept. But the Princess said that all of these measures were useless, for nothing could prevent her people from carrying out their purpose. She told the bamboo-cutter and his wife how very sorry she would be to leave them, and that it was not her wish to leave them. It made her sad to think that she would not be able to make a return for all the love and kindness they had shown her.
The harvest moon arose, and flooded the earth with her beautiful golden light, and still nothing happened. The darkness of night had begun to make way for the gray dawn, and hope came to the anxious watchers; hope that the Princess would not be taken away after all. Then suddenly a dark cloud seemed to leave the moon, and soon the sky was entirely obscured. It kept on its downward course until it reached within a few feet of the roof, and then stopped. Then did the watchers see a brilliant chariot, in which were beings who radiated light, as did the Princess.
From the chariot stepped one who had the look of a king, and who trod the air as easily and as gracefully as though he were on hard ground.
In a voice so clear that it was distinctly heard by every one of the awed watchers, he said:
“Princess Moonlight, many moons ago you committed a grave fault, and for punishment were sent down to earth to live for a time. The bamboo-cutter and his wife have taken good care of you, and to them we have given wealth. The time has come for you to return to your own people, so come at once from this lowly dwelling.”
Then, through the walls of the house was the Princess seen, shining, bright and of wonderful beauty. She kissed the old man and his wife, and spoke words of comfort to them, saying that her heart was full of love for them, and that she was leaving them against her own will. The Emperor also she bade good-by. Then she was transported through the air to the chariot, which mounted, swiftly towards the moon.
And now came the morning light, and no trace of the moon-chariot was left to those who gazed upwards with tearful eyes, and with a full heart the Emperor ordered his warriors to return.
Sorrowful as were the old bamboo-cutter and his wife, yet were they full of gratitude for having known the love of a daughter, who, while not with them in the body, would always dwell with them in spirit.