A Moonlight Fable

by H.G. Wells

There was once a little man whose mother made him a beautiful suit of clothes. It was green and gold and woven so that I cannot describe how delicate and fine it was, and there was a tie of orange fluffiness that tied up under his chin. And the buttons in their newness shone like stars. He was proud and pleased by his suit beyond measure, and stood before the long looking-glass when first he put it on, so astonished and delighted with it that he could hardly turn himself away. He wanted to wear it everywhere and show it to all sorts of people. He thought over all the places he had ever visited and all the scenes he had ever heard described, and tried to imagine what the feel of it would be if he were to go now to those scenes and places wearing his shining suit, and he wanted to go out forthwith into the long grass and the hot sunshine of the meadow wearing it. Just to wear it! But his mother told him, "No."

Genres: Short Stories, Horror, Audiobook, Science Fiction, Fiction

24 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1909

About the author

Herbert George Wells was born to a working class family in Kent, England. Young Wells received a spotty education, interrupted by several illnesses and family difficulties, and became a draper's apprentice as a teenager. The headmaster of Midhurst Grammar School, where he had spent a year, arranged for him to return as an "usher," or student teacher. Wells earned a government scholarship in 1884, to study biology under Thomas Henry Huxley at the Normal School of Science. Wells earned his bachelor of science and doctor of science degrees at the University of London. After marrying his cousin, Isabel, Wells began to supplement his teaching salary with short stories and freelance articles, then books, including The Time Machine (1895), The Island of Dr. Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897), and The War of the Worlds (1898).

Wells created a mild scandal when he divorced his cousin to marry one of his best students, Amy Catherine Robbins. Although his second marriage was lasting and produced two sons, Wells was an unabashed advocate of free (as opposed to "indiscriminate") love. He continued to openly have extra-marital liaisons, most famously with Margaret Sanger, and a ten-year relationship with the author Rebecca West, who had one of his two out-of-wedlock children. A one-time member of the Fabian Society, Wells sought active change. His 100 books included many novels, as well as nonfiction, such as A Modern Utopia (1905), The Outline of History (1920), A Short History of the World (1922), The Shape of Things to Come (1933), and The Work, Wealth and Happiness of Mankind (1932). One of his booklets was Crux Ansata, An Indictment of the Roman Catholic Church. Although Wells toyed briefly with the idea of a "divine will" in his book, God the Invisible King (1917), it was a temporary aberration. Wells used his international fame to promote his favorite causes, including the prevention of war, and was received by government officials around the world. He is best-remembered as an early writer of science fiction and futurism.

He was also an outspoken socialist. Wells and Jules Verne are each sometimes referred to as "The Fathers of Science Fiction". D. 1946.

More: http://philosopedia.org/index.php/H._...

http://www.online-literature.com/well...

http://www.hgwellsusa.50megs.com/

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/t...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._G._Wells

Reviews

[Close Enough]

Odd tale

[Stephen Alff (AlffBooks)]

This short story is basically one description, beautifully written and easy to read! I picked this up because I really like H.G. Wells and I was not disappointed even though it is quite different to the other stories I read by him.

[Dave]

A weirdo infatuated with a suit wanders the countryside by the light of the moon.

[Zen]

This is why I have Never Believed in Heaven. Don't waste your life Preparing for an Afterlife that Can't Exist. Live For Today!

Let go of Stress. Ignore the Pressure to Chase Wealth. Focusing instead on Love and the Present Moment.

Ultimately, if You are Truely a Good Person, You will Find Happiness in Yourself.

This is one of My Favorite H.G, Wells stories. It has a Wonderful Fairy Tale feel to it.

H.G. Wells was a Lifelong Atheist and my guess is that, within the Guise of this Fairy Tale, He is Critiquing the Viability of a Religious Reward for Denying the Humanity of Life while One is still Living.

Now I'm off to listen to some Grass Roots.

[Riri.]

Wonderful, the story was good but there were some unclear details. It seems that the character suffers from something like anxiety or maybe he panicked and he tried to comfort himself with his suit. The end was sad but at the same time I’m glad that he wore the suit he loved in the last nigh of his life

[James]

An exceptionally sweet, moving and magical story. A story of a fun living free spirited child with an amazing imagination who, in his own way was a rebel against his mother. Very shocking and very sad twist at the end though.

[Marco Carrizales]

Good story with an excellent lesson at the end.

[Rao Javed]

It was fine with an unclear aim but a good moralistic idea what was I feel not well said but it was good all over.

[E.J. Blak]

Short, but exceptional. I had much enjoyment following it, the way he spoke and the path the story followed was quite gripping. Very high 4

[Rizky Fajar Adipratama]

Cerita yang aneh, hampir seperti mimpi. Namun bukan mimpi yang indah.

[Richard]

ChapterVox audiobook.

[Kazhe Akram]

Can this dude stop dissapointing me

[Mersi]

OOOOFFFF

Not exactly the ending I imagined, but what a way to end.

[Caleb Marcoux]

I have a pretty strong feeling this is meant to be an obvious allegory, but it is also very feasible that it is not.

[Ken B]

This is a short fable about a man who gets a new suit from his mother. It is the most immaculate suit ever and the man obsesses with wearing it.

Being a fable, there is a moral lesson conveyed. But, that came across a bit abrupt and ultimately it is nothing earth-shattering or life changing.

3 STARS

[Daniel Stephens]

An odd little story.

[Vaishali]

In a slight departure from his sci-fi books, this may be Wells' only fairytale. Gave it two reads, but it still didn't hold my attention due to a lack of plot.

[Ik]

I just love the atmosphere Wells creates in most of his books, including this one. This felt a bit more like a fairytale than most of his stories, reminding me of 'The door in the wall'.