When the Moon Cried is a story about lovers who were separated by a sea. The story is told from the perspective
of the moon.
The start of the story introduces Elidyr and Lura, two lovers who live on opposite sides of a sea
who cannot ever meet because of their families. They send each other love letters, carried by messenger
birds that the moon sees and guides with its light.
The lovers begin to devise a plan to run away from their families and find a place to live their lives
together, but just as they are about to act on it, Elidyr falls ill.
Lura goes on a quest to find a rare herb that will cure Elidyr, but the moon is mournful, knowing the last of the herb
was picked before they were even born.
After hardships, Lura reaches the fabled location atop a mountain where the herb was said to grow, but finds nothing.
In despair, she falls to her knees and begins crying. The story of these lovers and their dedication to each other
moves the moon to shed a tear in the form of a single droplet of solid moonlight that lands next to the woman and
blooms into the herb.
Through tears, she rejoices and thanks the moon profusely and rushes off to Elidyr, ignoring what their families will
think. Elidyr meets her outside and she gives him the herb to eat. Elidyr eats it and is cured of his afflication
as well as restored to perfect form.
The story ends with the couple running away together and living happily for the remainder of their lives, giving
thanks to the moon. And on their death, the moon shed a single tear onto that mountain again, mourning them and the
end of their love.
Goose's parents say there are many forms of this story and that they tell this as a bedtime story about love and dedication, but they believe the herb is real and in other stories, it grants Elidyr powers or immortal life, which he spends gardening and tending to his lover's resting place.