Nat navigates his life by the celestial bodies, e.g., the moon, stars, and sun. The very first scene in the story shows Nat hoping to use the moon in a good luck charm. However, he finds that the moon is a tricky thing to rely on. It waxes and wanes and hides behind clouds. As an adult, Nat will figure out a way to use the moon as a more reliable guide.

When Nat first learns that he won’t be able to go back to school, his mother sees how deeply disappointed he is and takes him outside and shows him the stars. She teaches him how to find the north star and use it to tell the time. It is another way that he learns to use the sky as a guide. His mother also shows him how to use the stars to comfort himself when life doesn’t go his way. She shows him that looking up at the stars makes earthly troubles seem less crushing.

Later, Nat will do for other people what his mother did for him that night. When Elizabeth Boardman is brokenhearted over her father’s death, Nat comforts her by teaching her how to tell the time by the north star.