The Moth and the Star

{{Short description|Fable by James Thurber}}

{{for|the 1916 film episode|Stingaree (serial)}}

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"The Moth and the Star" is a fable by James Thurber,{{Cite web |last=Thurber |first=James |title=20. The Moth and the Star and 21. The Owl Who Was God |url=http://www.fiftytwostories.com/?p=1295 |access-date=October 23, 2024 |website=Fifty-Two Stories}} printed in the story collection Fables for Our Time in 1940. In the fable, a young moth aspires to fly up to a star, and keeps trying to reach that impossible goal. The other moths laugh at him. They tell him he should have a realistic goal, such as flying to a candle. Indeed, they all fly to candles and are burnt to ashes. The dreamy, unrealistic young moth keeps focused on flying to a star. He lives a long and happy life.