Sometimes, when you gaze up at the night sky, you might think you see a face. But the Man in the Moon isn't a picture painted by sunlight and shadows across the craters and canyons of the moons surface.

It's Claude.

And Claude is a very busy man.

Once a month Claude scrubs the moon's surface so it can reflect the sun's rays and shine down on us, full and glorious.

Twice a day he tugs on the tide ties so our oceans rise and fall.

Each night he pedals hard to send the moon across the skies, so we know the darkness is passing and soon it will be day.

Then, every hour on the hour, he sprinkles dreams across the world. Walking flowers, talking pigs and jelly monsters, Claude's dreams rain down into sleeping minds, making eyes flicker beneath their lids.

When all his work is over, Claude likes to sit quietly and look down upon the Earth through his telescope ……and wonder where he fits in…

But there isn't much time for wondering - Claude is a very very busy man. He has to tend the underground lunar vegetables, fed starlight through holes in the moon rock, and water squeezed out of icy asteroids.

He must collect blue midnight honey carried by the giant moon moths which float, gracefully weightless, attracted to the planet's ghostly glow.

And then….… when all his work is over, Claude likes to sit quietly and watch the people on the Earth through his telescope…and wonder where he fits in.

But there isn't much time for wondering because today, there, in the silver light of the Earth Rise, Claude spots a rocket!

At last! At last he is going to meet some of the people he has worked for, shined for, tugged and tidied for! Perhaps they are going to tell him what a good job he has been doing - perhaps they are going to give him a gold star - or even a medal!

Claude stands nervously in his best overalls as the rocket lands on his perfectly polished moon. As the great engines hiss and blow stirring up clouds of moon dust Claude gently brushes the grains off his shoulders. As the shiny metal door slowly opens and throws out a rickety stepladder Claude straightens his tie. And as astronaut takes his first small steps before leaping out onto the moon Claude quietly clears his throat.

But the astronauts don't even notice him. They plant a flag, jump up and down and thwack golf balls around, leaving a terrible mess for Claude to clean up, and then … they leave.

And they don't even say Thank-You.

Claude stands and watches them leave. Watches the spaceship get smaller and smaller, watches it fly further and further away.

Then Claude blinks slowly, shakes himself a little, and gets on with his work. There's a lot to do before nightfall, and people expect him to do it, even though they have never met him, and don't even know he was there. But we know he is there. So the next time you gaze up into the night sky and think you see a man in the moon…

Say thank-you to Claude.