Magical Sky-Taxi

Way, way up high in the bright blue sky lived kind old Grandpa Wind. He didn't have a house of his own, mostly because his absolute favorite thing in the whole wide world was traveling from place to place, chatting with the clouds.

One day, Grandpa Wind floated over a town called Dryville. Poor little Dryville was in a tough spot. There were no tall, leafy trees for shade, and no cool, splashy lakes to swim in. Mr. Sun was extra bossy there, baking away every last tiny drop of moisture in the air.

Floating right above Dryville was a little cloud named Whit. With hardly any moisture to drink, Whit was always fluffy, perfectly white, and bone-dry. Every single day, Whit stretched out as wide as he could, trying so hard to soak up just a tiny bit of water to make a nice, refreshing rain for the people below. But it was just too hot. He couldn't squeeze out a single drop!

The folks in Dryville would look up, frown, and grumble, "Ugh, why won't that little white cloud ever rain? The sun is so hot, we're all going to turn into baked potatoes!"

Whit heard them, and it broke his little cloud heart. He hung his head and sighed to Grandpa Wind as he drifted by, "Grandpa Wind, I'm so sad. Everyone blames me, but I really want to rain! There's just no water here for me to drink, so my tummy is always empty."

Grandpa Wind gave him a gentle, breezy pat. "I understand, my boy," he whispered. "It isn't your fault."

Next, Grandpa Wind traveled to a town called Soggytown. Soggytown was the exact opposite of Dryville. It was filled to the brim with rushing rivers and deep ponds. The air was thick and sticky with water, and everything was always dripping wet.

Floating above Soggytown was a cloud named Cole. Because there was so much water around, Cole gulped and gulped until his tummy was perfectly round, and he grew heavy and dark like a lump of coal. His tummy always felt so terribly full—so full that he just couldn't hold it in. SPLASH! WHOOSH! Down came the pouring rain!

The people of Soggytown always had to wear raincoats and rain boots. Their damp laundry took days to dry. They stared up at Cole and complained, "Oh no, it's that dark cloud again! Why is he always raining? Our shoes are going to grow fuzzy mold!"

Cole heard this, and he felt terrible. He cried to Grandpa Wind, "Grandpa Wind, I don't want to rain all the time either! But there's just so much water here. I accidentally drink too much, and then I just can't help turning into a giant rainstorm!"

After hearing about Whit and Cole's troubles, Grandpa Wind's eyes twinkled. He had a brilliant idea! He chuckled and said, "Don't you worry, Cole! I know exactly what to do. Drink up all the water you can, and I'll take you somewhere that really needs you!"

Cole did as he was told, drinking up the moisture until he was as dark as ink. Then, Grandpa Wind huffed and puffed, blowing the heavy, round Cole all the way across the sky to Dryville.

The people of Dryville pointed at the sky in shock. "Wow! Look! A dark raincloud!"

Seeing the hot, cracked earth below, Cole happily let go of all the water in his bursting tummy. Pitter-patter, pitter-patter, SPLASH!

"It's raining! It's raining!" The children and grown-ups of Dryville ran out into the rain, jumping and cheering. They looked up at Cole and shouted, "Thank you, Cole! You are the best cloud ever!"

Cole's heart felt warm and fuzzy. It was the very first time anyone had ever praised him!

Next, Grandpa Wind used the exact same trick to blow light, fluffy Whit all the way from Dryville to Soggytown.

When Whit arrived, he gasped in excitement. "Wow! There's so much yummy water here!" Whit gulped down the moisture with joy. Soon, his white fluff turned a lovely shade of gray, and his tummy began to bulge.

Then, Grandpa Wind simply blew the full, happy Whit back to Dryville to rain, while blowing the now-empty, fluffy-white Cole back to Soggytown to fill up again.

And so, just like a magical sky-taxi, Grandpa Wind spent his days carrying Whit and Cole back and forth between Dryville and Soggytown.

From then on, Dryville was never too dry, and Soggytown never flooded. The people of both towns were so grateful for the two sweet clouds. They would shout into the sky, "Thank you! You are the greatest clouds in the whole world!"

Whit and Cole never felt sad again. They were proud and happy to help people, traveling joyfully between the two towns every single day.