Mio and the Astronomical Clock

By now, Mio felt right at home at the children’s school. He liked all the lessons because he learned something new in every class. The only thing he had to watch out for was to be careful in PE – he was so much heavier than the children that he couldn’t use the gym apparatus. Mio was particularly keen on history and geography. In history, the class had recently been learning about the Tudors and Stewarts, and in geography they had been talking about the phases of the moon. When the weather wasn’t too cloudy, Mio liked to look out of the window at bedtime and see what shape the moon was.

Today, their teacher was taking them all on a trip to Hampton Court Palace, and Mio was very excited!

When they arrived, they were very impressed by the main gateway into the palace, with its turrets and towers. It looked almost like a fairy-tale castle! They walked through one huge courtyard and into another, where lots of people seemed to be gathering. “They are looking at the Astronomical Clock,” said their teacher, “which is a very old and unusual clock. Can anyone see what’s unusual about it?” The children joined the front of the crowd and craned their necks to get a better look at the clock face.

“It’s got animal pictures on it!” said Emily.

“That’s right,” said their teacher, “those are the signs of the Zodiac, which refer to the stars in the sky – this clock doesn’t only measure hours but also days, months and seasons. And can you see what’s right in the middle?”

“Is it the moon?” asked Peter.

“Well spotted!” said the teacher. “The clock shows the phases of the moon. That was especially useful at the…