Part 5

Uncle Henry took some folded papers from his pocket and spread them out on the table.

"Here are four maps of the sky," he said, "which show the way it looks at different seasons at 9 o'clock in the evening--on January 1st, April 1st, July 1st, and October 1st. You will see that the groups of stars around the pole are always in view, while the rest of the star people change with the seasons, but even the groups around the pole change their positions with the seasons.

"You have all seen the _Swastika_. It has been known and used as an ornament for hundreds of years, all over the world--by the American Indians, the Chinese, the East Indians, and many others. I'll show you where I think all these widely separated people got the _Swastika_, and how it stands for the four seasons."

Uncle Henry drew four little pictures showing the four positions in which the big dipper stands in the four different seasons, with its "pointer stars" always indicating the pole star.

Then he drew all four positions on one sheet of paper, like this:

And when heavy lines were drawn along the handles of the dippers and across the pole star from bowl to bowl the _Swastika_ suddenly appeared like this:

The Society of Star-Gazers was very enthusiastic about the origin of the _Swastika_, and found the dipper in its different positions on all of the four maps that Uncle Henry had put on the table.

You can see the position of the dipper and all the other stars at January 1st, April 1st, July 1st, and December 1st, at 9 o'clock in the evening, by looking at the four maps inside the covers of this book.

After the children had looked at all the four maps as long as they wanted to, Uncle Henry suddenly remembered to look at his watch and exclaimed,

"My goodness! I guess it's about time the Society adjourned for to-night. Ten o'clock! I'll get scolded for keeping you up so late."

"I want to ask just one thing more," pleaded Betty.

"All right, what is it?" said Uncle Henry.

"Who found all the sky people?"

"Well," said Uncle Henry, "now that's a long story. They were all found and named so long ago that nobody knows who did it. The inventors of the star people naturally thought they saw pictures in the sky of the things they were familar with in everyday life--the bear, the bull, the serpent, the archer, and so on. If they had had any steam engines then somebody would have drawn lines from star to star until they had a picture of one in the sky. In England the Great Bear or Dipper is usually called the 'Plough' and you can see why

"It is also called 'Charles' Wain' or wagon.

"We only know that the constellations are very, very old, and that an ancient people living in the valley of the Euphrates river probably named most of them. The Babylonian Tablets, the oldest records known, show that the Zodiac constellations were known over 3000 years before the birth of Christ, which is now nearly 5000 years ago."

"Can't we have just one more poem before we go to bed?" said Paul.

"Yes," said Uncle Henry, "but not one of mine. I'll give you a little bit of a long poem that was written by a man named _Aratos_ about 280 years before the wise men followed the star that told them where to find the new-born Christ. It has been running through my mind all the evening. This is it:

"And all the signs through which Night whirls her car, From belted _Orion_ back to _Orion_ and his dauntless Hound, And all _Poseidon's_, all high _Zeus's_ stars, Bear on their beams true messages to man."

FOURTH WINTER EVENING

IN WHICH THE "SOCIETY" MEETS THE LAST OF THE STAR PEOPLE AND THE BEGINNING OF ASTRONOMY--AND BETTY PROPOSES A "NOTE" OF THANKS

The Society of Star-Gazers assembled upon the roof the next night with an eagerness that was tempered a little by regret that it _was_ the last.

Uncle Henry saw this, and before starting to find the evening's constellations with the children, told them a few of the many wonderful things to be seen among the stars with the aid of a small telescope.

He reminded them of the "little cloud" in _Andromeda_, called the Great Nebula, and said that there were not only many more of these wonderful clouds of star dust, but numbers of beautiful double stars, some of them lovely with tints of red, green or orange, and some that can be seen with an ordinary opera-glass.

Then he told them of the curious variable, or "winking" stars, which turn bright and faint alternately on a regular schedule, so many hours bright, and so many hours faint. Also he described the beauty of the planet _Jupiter_, surrounded by its four little moons, all of which could be seen with a small telescope.

Then the children began to feel more cheerful, for they saw that being introduced to the creatures and people of Skyland was only the beginning of the study of astronomy.

"So," finished Uncle Henry, "we don't need to feel that there is no more fun coming, for there are lots more faint constellations which are all beautiful, even though not plain enough for us to find easily in the beginning. Besides, if you ever journey to the South, beyond the earth's equator, you will find a whole new sky full of marvelous people, and creatures, and objects--all pictured in the flashing southern heavens."

"Well," said Peter briskly, "what do we find to-night, Uncle Hen?"

"We'll begin," replied Uncle Henry, "with a person you may have heard of--_Perseus_, who killed the terrible Gorgon _Medusa_."

"Oh, I know him," cried Paul, "we read all 'bout him last year."

"Quite right," said Uncle Henry, "then you remember that when he had killed _Medusa_, and cut off her head with his sword, he had to hold the head with the terrible face away from him, because everybody who looked at that face was instantly turned to stone."

"Yes, yes, we know!" chorused the Society.

"Well, now we'll find _Perseus_, his sword, and the head of _Medusa_," promised Uncle Henry. "All you have to do is to extend the line of _Andromeda's_ left leg and prolong it from her foot, straight out for about her whole length. (30) There you will find _Algenib_, the brightest star in _Perseus_. It is right in his neck, between his shoulders. From _Algenib_ you can trace a row of stars downward, almost to the _Pleiades_ in the bull's shoulder. This row of stars is _Perseus'_ body and legs. Then find two stars above _Algenib_, one over the other, and you have his head and helmet.

"After that it is easy to start at _Algenib_ and trace out his right arm, with the sword. A line drawn toward _Perseus_ through the stars in _Andromeda's_ head and left hip points out the star _Algol_, which is the head of _Medusa_, held in _Perseus'_ left hand. (31) _Algol_ is a famous variable star, which the ancients named 'the dragon of the slowly winking eye.'"

The children soon found all of _Perseus_, and all took part in drawing his skeleton on the blackboard. Then they watched _Algol_ in the sky, and expected to see it wink, until Uncle Henry told them that the wink is so slow that it takes seven hours for _Algol_ to become faint and bright again, and that then two and three-quarter days pass before _Algol_ winks again. This being the case the Society decided not to wait, and finished _Perseus_ up so that he looked this way:

Uncle Henry added the lines with arrows to show how _Algenib_ and _Algol_ are found, with the help of _Andromeda_.

After _Perseus_ was finished, Betty kept gazing at the sky. She seemed fascinated, and finally asked,

"Uncle Henry, there's a perfectly lovely star just a little way in front of _Perseus_, and three little ones near it. If I could name stars I would call them 'the hen and chickens,' wouldn't you?"

All the children looked, and easily found the beautiful star. They couldn't have missed it, and neither can you, for it is one of the most brilliant in the sky and there are no others like it nearby.

"Yes," said Uncle Henry, "the big star and the three little ones do look like a hen and her chickens. I would call them that, too, Betty, but hundreds of years ago somebody named the bright star _Capella_, which means 'the goat,' and called the three little stars 'the kids,' so you see that they are named already."

"A kid is the baby of a goat, isn't it, Uncle Hen?" inquired Peter.

"Yes, that's the idea," said Uncle Henry, and went on, "Betty happens to have picked out the brightest star in the last constellation we are going to find. It is called _Auriga_, or the Charioteer. He hasn't his chariot with him."

"How do we find _Auriga_?" inquired Paul.

"He is very plain, almost as plain as _Orion_ himself," said Uncle Henry. "_Capella_ is at one corner of a five-sided figure, called a 'pentagon.' (32) It is also in the left shoulder of _Auriga_. Find the tip of the left horn of _Taurus_, the Bull, and you will have another corner of the pentagon, and at the same time the right foot of _Auriga_. When you have those points it is easy to find the other three corners, which are the right shoulder, left foot, and the right hand of _Auriga_. He holds his whip in that hand. Even though he had to leave his chariot when he went into the sky, he insisted on taking his whip along. It comes in very handy, too, sometimes, when the two lions up there become fretful and uneasy. When you have found _Auriga's_ shoulder stars, just draw two lines upward to a star above and between them and you finish the charioteer's skeleton. The star at the point where the lines cross is in his head. See him, everybody?"

The children had no trouble in putting in the stars and drawing the skeleton. Neither will you, for _Auriga_ is very conspicuous, and almost straight overhead in the evening about Christmas time.

This is the way _Auriga_ looked on the blackboard:

When the children had finished looking at _Auriga_, and _Capella_ the Goat and her three babies, Betty drew herself up very straight and said, trying to look very dignified,

"Mr. Chairman, I move that The Society of Star-Gazers give Uncle Henry a note of thanks for giving us such an instructive, and--and--oh, we've liked your Christmas present an awful lot, Uncle Henry!"

Peter was going to say that it was a _vote_ of thanks that people got from societies, but Betty was so earnest and dignified that he didn't really want to take her down just then, so he joined Paul in seconding the motion and was appointed by Betty as a committee of one to write the "note" and deliver it to Uncle Henry later.

Uncle Henry looked quite serious, for him, and said that he had made up a little poem that they might like to hear while standing under the Christmas stars.

The Society voted unanimously in the affirmative, so Uncle Henry recited,

"There was once a star of old, Wonders to three wise men told.

Where it led, there followed they-- Stars had taught them how to pray, How to know the Truth from lies-- God had taught them through His skies.

Where the star led, followed they, Found the Christ-child, laid in hay-- To His mother, in the stable, Brought Him gifts that they were able.

Stars lead us to Christmas Truth-- Let us look, with eyes of youth!"

Then, in a moment more, Uncle Henry and the children were gone, and the sleepless, faithful stars were alone, brooding lovingly over their tiny baby brother, which we call the great world.

The author desires to express his indebtedness to the following books, which have given him many hours of enlightening pleasure while riding the star-gazing hobby:

A Field Book of the Stars Olcott

Star Lore of all Ages Olcott

The Heavens and Their Story Mrs. Maunder

Astronomy Jacoby

Astronomy from a Dipper Clarke

New Astronomy Todd

Astronomy Lockyer

He also wishes to add his appreciation of the monthly pleasure given by "The Evening Sky Map," published by Leon Barritt.

Printed in the United States of America

Transcriber's note:

The original text has been preserved, but for the following exceptions: a few missing or extraneous quotation marks have been corrected, and on page 78 "be" was changed to "he" (had he failed to make good).