Nina and the Cloud Who Forgot How to Rain

Once upon a time in a sky full of clouds, there was one little cloud named Nimbus. Nimbus wasn’t like the others—he had forgotten how to rain! While the big, puffy clouds poured rain on thirsty plants and filled rivers, Nimbus could only drift around and make funny shapes like ducks and dinosaurs. Down below, in the village of Sunnyvale, lived a curious little girl named Nina. She loved looking up at the sky and imagining stories in the clouds. One summer, it didn’t rain for weeks. The flowers drooped, the ponds dried up, and everyone looked worried. Nina noticed that the same tiny cloud was always floating above—but never raining. "Maybe he’s forgotten how," she whispered. That night, Nina climbed the tallest hill and waved at Nimbus. “Hey, little cloud! Don’t be scared. I’ll help you remember!” Nimbus wobbled down and hovered near her. “I want to rain,” he said in a soft, misty voice, “but I’ve forgotten how.” Nina thought hard. “Rain comes from feelings,” she said. “Maybe if you remember something that made you really happy or sad, the rain will come!” Nimbus remembered the time he made a rainbow after a big storm. That made him smile so wide, he puffed up. Then he remembered the lonely times when the wind pushed him far from his cloud friends. That made him feel a little heavy... Drip. A single drop of rain fell onto Nina’s nose. “You did it!” she laughed. Soon, Nimbus began to drizzle, then shower, then pour—happy and light all at once. The grass turned green again, the flowers perked up, and everyone in Sunnyvale danced in the rain. From that day on, whenever the sky was too dry, Nina would wave to Nimbus and say, “Just feel, and you’ll rain!”