Many legends about the Moon are told across Africa. This one comes from the Kabyle people in Algeria, and is found in The Man in the Moon: Sky Tales from Many Lands by folklorists Alta Jablow and Carl Withers here.
Tears on the Moon is told by storyteller and author Lynn Moroney, a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation. Lynn's Native American ancestry and pioneer roots are deeply woven into her stories. Her repertory abounds with sky tales from around the world ... most particularly the sky myths and stories of indigenous peoples.
Long, long ago ,there lived a boy who was sad all the time. He lived alone with no family or friends.
Now, though he was unhappy, the boy did not cry tears, for in those days, there were no tears on the Earth. And even when people were sad, they did not shed tears.
One night Moon saw how sad the boy was, and he took pity on him. Moon floated, down, down, down to the Earth and came to rest beside the boy.
"Oh Child, you do not have tears to show your sadness. But I have come to help you. With me by your side, when you cry, tears will come to your eyes. Do not let your tears fall to the earth. Let your tears fall on me and I'll take them with me when I return to the sky."
And with that, the boy began to weep; he sobbed great salty tears. The boy's tears were the very first tears on the Earth.
He did not let the tears fall on the ground, rather his tears fell upon Moon.
Moon then blessed the boy and said, "From this time on, people will love you. You will no longer be alone and sad. And when you do shed tears, in time, the sadness will go away."
After that the boy was loved by everyone. He grew into a man and he had many sons and daughters who filled his life with love and joy. And ever since that night, Moon has carried the boy's tears with him as he travels across the sky. On full Moon nights, you can see two of the tears...there they are...spilling out of Moon's left eye.
And that's the end of the story.
And next time you see the tears on Moon's face, remember to tell this story to someone.