I Want to Write Childrens Stories
This story that I wrote was published by Beaver's Pond Press in 2010.
The Raindrop Who Lost His Cloud
Once upon a time there was a raindrop named Stewart Stewart lived in a small white cloud that floated lazily amidst many others in the late fall skies. One morning he awoke wondering, “What is my purpose?”. He drifted from raindrop to raindrop in the cloud asking the same question and receiving the same answer over and over again, “Why, to grow up and fall to the lands below and go to the rivers and eventually on to the great ocean.”. That didn’t satisfy Stewart. He as afraid he’d fall onto a desert and just evaporate away or even worse, fall onto a city street and get sucked down into a dark smelly sewer. “I want to do more with my life”, said Stewart. I wonder what the raindrops in other clouds want to do when they get big?
Eventually his curiosity grew so strong that he went way to the edge of the cloud and peered out at the other clouds. They looked so close but no matter how loud he called out they couldn’t hear him. Stewart felt a strong breeze and jumped in. Up-up-up he rose and then onwards to another cloud. The next cloud looked a bit bigger than the one he was from and the drops were a bit bigger and almost ready to fall. “What are you going to do when you fall?”, asked Stewart. “Why, to grow up and fall to the lands below and go to the rivers and eventually on to the great ocean.”, they replied one after another. “Oh, well”, sighed Stewart.
Stewart went back to the edge of the cloud but he was now all turned around in his directions. The clouds all looked the same! The breeze had shifted too! He was hopelessly lost. Stewart cried so hard he was afraid he would evaporate away. Oh, What shall I do wailed Stewart. A big thunderhead loomed downwind of the cloud he was on. “With so much power maybe they can help”. Stewart gathered his courage and leaped back into the wind. But alas, as he approached, lightning flashed, thunder roared, and hail stones flew by saying, “Hop on!, Were gonna dent some cars and break some windows before we set off for the great ocean!”. “No, no thanks”, replied Stewart. So off he drifted again.
He felt so lonely. Eventually he joined up with a gang of rouge raindrops. They said that their goal was to just have fun. At last, a different purpose. “That sounds great”, said Stewart, “Can I join”. “Sure, come and go as you please, We’re easy”. Stewart and the rouge raindrops spent their time teasing people on the ground with rainbows. Always moving the end away just as they approached it. They danced around the moon in a circle at night and made fog banks over the roads and rivers to scare and confuse the drivers and fishermen. Stewart wasn’t bored but he was becoming more and more uneasy with this lifestyle. There just didn’t seem to be any constructive purpose to what they were doing.
Eventually he let the wind take him away. He drifted higher and higher. It got colder and colder. Poor Stewart shivered as he didn’t have a coat you know. He was lonely, cold and scared. He was afraid that if he cried he’d just evaporate away before accomplishing anything. Just then he heard a small, squeaky voice say, “excuse me but I’m lost”.
Stewart looked around and there was a small speck of dust floating beside him. “Oh, Hi”, said Stewart. “Hi, my name is Fleck”, said the dust speck.. “I was in the fields down below helping the crops grow but it got drier and colder and all of a sudden a whirl wind picked me up and now I’m up here all alone”, He sniffed. Stewart told Fleck how he too became lost while searching for is purpose. “Crops are OK “, said Fleck, but what I’d really like to do is help the wild flowers that I used to see at the edge of the fields grow”. “Say, that sounds perfect”, said Stewart. Can I do it with you? “Of course”, said Fleck. Flowers can’t grow without water. ”Can I be your friend”, asked Stewart. “Oh yes”, squeaked Fleck! Stewart gave the speck a hug and in that instant Stewart felt himself begin to change. He grew and grew and was transformed …..into a colossal, white, six sided snow flake with Fleck in the center.
“Hang On!” Said Stewart as the wind caught them. Stewart and Fleck flew with the wind. They went over cities and lakes and fields until finally at dark the wind began to calm and they were able to settle onto a promising forest glen that would be full of spring flowers. They were so tired they fell sound asleep. When the sun rose they found themselves surrounded by thousands, then millions, no billions of other unique snow flakes who like Stewart and Fleck wanted to do more than just go to the ocean. And in the silence of the forest they could hear a slight hiss as the other snow flakes joined them saying, “Hi Stewart, Hi Fleck”. Stewart and Fleck were no longer alone and with the arrival of the warm spring sunshine would set out together to achieve their purpose.
The End
M. Toffle 8/28/09
The Raindrop Who Lost His Cloud
Once upon a time there was a raindrop named Stewart Stewart lived in a small white cloud that floated lazily amidst many others in the late fall skies. One morning he awoke wondering, “What is my purpose?”. He drifted from raindrop to raindrop in the cloud asking the same question and receiving the same answer over and over again, “Why, to grow up and fall to the lands below and go to the rivers and eventually on to the great ocean.”. That didn’t satisfy Stewart. He as afraid he’d fall onto a desert and just evaporate away or even worse, fall onto a city street and get sucked down into a dark smelly sewer. “I want to do more with my life”, said Stewart. I wonder what the raindrops in other clouds want to do when they get big?
Eventually his curiosity grew so strong that he went way to the edge of the cloud and peered out at the other clouds. They looked so close but no matter how loud he called out they couldn’t hear him. Stewart felt a strong breeze and jumped in. Up-up-up he rose and then onwards to another cloud. The next cloud looked a bit bigger than the one he was from and the drops were a bit bigger and almost ready to fall. “What are you going to do when you fall?”, asked Stewart. “Why, to grow up and fall to the lands below and go to the rivers and eventually on to the great ocean.”, they replied one after another. “Oh, well”, sighed Stewart.
Stewart went back to the edge of the cloud but he was now all turned around in his directions. The clouds all looked the same! The breeze had shifted too! He was hopelessly lost. Stewart cried so hard he was afraid he would evaporate away. Oh, What shall I do wailed Stewart. A big thunderhead loomed downwind of the cloud he was on. “With so much power maybe they can help”. Stewart gathered his courage and leaped back into the wind. But alas, as he approached, lightning flashed, thunder roared, and hail stones flew by saying, “Hop on!, Were gonna dent some cars and break some windows before we set off for the great ocean!”. “No, no thanks”, replied Stewart. So off he drifted again.
He felt so lonely. Eventually he joined up with a gang of rouge raindrops. They said that their goal was to just have fun. At last, a different purpose. “That sounds great”, said Stewart, “Can I join”. “Sure, come and go as you please, We’re easy”. Stewart and the rouge raindrops spent their time teasing people on the ground with rainbows. Always moving the end away just as they approached it. They danced around the moon in a circle at night and made fog banks over the roads and rivers to scare and confuse the drivers and fishermen. Stewart wasn’t bored but he was becoming more and more uneasy with this lifestyle. There just didn’t seem to be any constructive purpose to what they were doing.
Eventually he let the wind take him away. He drifted higher and higher. It got colder and colder. Poor Stewart shivered as he didn’t have a coat you know. He was lonely, cold and scared. He was afraid that if he cried he’d just evaporate away before accomplishing anything. Just then he heard a small, squeaky voice say, “excuse me but I’m lost”.
Stewart looked around and there was a small speck of dust floating beside him. “Oh, Hi”, said Stewart. “Hi, my name is Fleck”, said the dust speck.. “I was in the fields down below helping the crops grow but it got drier and colder and all of a sudden a whirl wind picked me up and now I’m up here all alone”, He sniffed. Stewart told Fleck how he too became lost while searching for is purpose. “Crops are OK “, said Fleck, but what I’d really like to do is help the wild flowers that I used to see at the edge of the fields grow”. “Say, that sounds perfect”, said Stewart. Can I do it with you? “Of course”, said Fleck. Flowers can’t grow without water. ”Can I be your friend”, asked Stewart. “Oh yes”, squeaked Fleck! Stewart gave the speck a hug and in that instant Stewart felt himself begin to change. He grew and grew and was transformed …..into a colossal, white, six sided snow flake with Fleck in the center.
“Hang On!” Said Stewart as the wind caught them. Stewart and Fleck flew with the wind. They went over cities and lakes and fields until finally at dark the wind began to calm and they were able to settle onto a promising forest glen that would be full of spring flowers. They were so tired they fell sound asleep. When the sun rose they found themselves surrounded by thousands, then millions, no billions of other unique snow flakes who like Stewart and Fleck wanted to do more than just go to the ocean. And in the silence of the forest they could hear a slight hiss as the other snow flakes joined them saying, “Hi Stewart, Hi Fleck”. Stewart and Fleck were no longer alone and with the arrival of the warm spring sunshine would set out together to achieve their purpose.
The End
M. Toffle 8/28/09
