Drip, Drop, Don't Stop! UFLI Foundations Lesson 107

The first raindrop landed right on Joy's nose. Then another. And another. 'Drip, drop, don't stop!' she shouted. She spread her arms wide and tipped her face up to the sky. The drops dotted the grass and the green bushes. They sparkled like tiny glass beads all over the yard. Joy grinned. The sky was just getting started. A blue bird hopped closer to see what all the fuss was about. A green frog blinked up at Joy from the grass. 'You two get it,' she told them. 'Rain is the best thing that ever happens.'

Joy ran to the doorway just in time. Water was dropping off the roof and splashing into the big bucket below. Splash, splash, splash! 'We are catching it!' Joy called out. 'Every single drop!' She watched the bucket filling, her eyes wide. Each splash was like a tiny burst. If Mum boiled this water, they could drink the sky. How many kids got to drink the sky?

Inside, Mum sat down, closed her eyes, and smiled a big, slow smile. Then she picked up her sitar. Joy had seen that look before. That meant only one thing: rain music. Mum's fingers danced on the strings, and her voice hummed and floated in the room. Outside, the drops fell on the roof. Tap-tap-tap-tap. They dripped and drummed and did not stop. Mum let it all fill her up. 'See?' Joy whispered. 'The rain even knows how to sing.'

After class, Joy gripped her book tight to her chest and ran for home. The rain came down hard, dripping and dropping all around her. Then she stopped. Right there in the middle of the wet path stood a big bird, its tail feathers fanned out wide. Not running. Not hiding. Just showing off, right in the cold rain. 'Excuse me,' Joy said. 'Don't you want to hide from the rain?' The bird did not move. It just stood there looking very proud of itself. It looked like it was waiting for a clap. Joy grinned, clapped for it, and ran the rest of the way home.

Joy washed up and dried off, then followed her nose down the hall. Something hot and rich was calling from the kitchen. Joy closed her eyes and breathed in deep. Then her little brother Sam burst in from the doorway with arms flung wide and a big grin on his face. 'Dinner!' A black cat sat between them, its whiskers twitching at the steam drifting out of the kitchen. Mum stirred her big bowl with a ladle and smiled at them both. 'Wet days make the best stew.' Joy nodded hard. Wet days made the best everything.

And then, just like that, the rain stopped. Joy stepped outside and looked all around. No more drip. No more drop. But the world had changed. Every leaf wore a tiny glass bead. Every twig held a perfect, still drop. Joy reached out and tapped a big sparkling leaf, and the drop slipped off slow and cool, dripping down into the wet grass. 'Wow,' she said softly. This was what the rain left behind.

Joy's best tree stood waiting for her, tall and green. Its branches were dotted with pink flowers like tiny birthday candles. Joy had watched it all spring, soaking up the rain drop by drop, getting taller and fuller until the green looked so deep and bright. Joy pressed her hand flat on the trunk of the tree. One last drop slipped from a leaf up above and landed right on her nose. It was small and cool and perfect. Joy grinned and looked up. 'Drip, drop,' she whispered. And up there in the clouds, she hoped the rain whispered back, 'Don't stop.'