Who Waves At Boy? Jolly Phonics · Step 3, Unit 4: /ai/ mixed
Practice Words
Boy sees him first. 'Up there!' he yells. 'A man in the clouds!' Girl and I gaze up. A big soft shape floats in the sky, waving down at us. 'He waves at me,' says Boy. 'He waves at us all,' I say. 'No,' says Boy. 'Just me.'
We flop down in the grass to gaze up. Boy lies flat, chin in his hands. Girl sits up. I lie back and see the clouds drift and shift. Then the man fades. 'Maybe he is shy,' says Girl in a hush. 'Clouds are not shy,' says Boy. 'He will come back. Just wait.' Even the beasts in the grass stand still, waiting too.
Then he is back, and he brings a lady! Both cloud shapes leap and twirl in the sky. They kick. They spin. They dance a jig. 'I like this one!' I jump up and jig along. My arms sway. The cat by my feet hops too, which looks more like flopping. 'They copy Sister!' says Girl. 'No,' I grin. 'I copy them!'
The cloud man and lady stop dancing. They plant big soft feet, tilt back, and sing. No sound comes down. But they gape wide, arms out, and I can just tell it is a really loud song. Boy sits up and points. 'They sing like ahhh-la-la-laaa!' The birds tilt to one side, as if they can feel it too.
Then the sky fills up. Cloud drummers! Cloud horn players! A big cloud band grins down at us. And this time we can feel it. A deep boom, boom, boom makes the ground hum. 'Dance!' yells Girl. Boy bounces. Girl spins. I kick my legs way up high. Even the beasts bob along, and I am not making that up.
The drum gets loud. And louder! The sky turns grey, then dark. The boom turns to a big crack. Thunder! 'Um,' says Girl, as fat raindrops land on her hand. 'I think the band is upset.' 'Bands do not get upset,' says Boy. But his voice shakes. A flash lights up the sky. The drummer bangs harder, and the rain comes down fast and thick.
'Run!' I shout. We dash for home. Girl is fastest, because Girl is fastest each time. Boy swings his arms. I slip twice but keep going. Inside, the lamp light is bright, like it calls us home. Both dogs from the yard dash along with us too. We all pile inside just as the sky gives its biggest crack yet.
We kick off the wet socks. Splat, splat, splat! Six wet socks in a heap by the way in. Then Boy grabs a cloth and swings it round and round. 'I am the cloud man!' he yells. 'I am the cloud lady!' Girl twirls her red cloth. I wave my blue cloth. 'I am all the cloud band!' We dance and drip and grin. Soon the room is a lake!
Mum and Dad come in and see us. 'A cloud man came!' Boy tells them. 'And he sang like this!' He gapes wide and yells. 'They did a jig,' I say, jigging. 'There was a band!' says Girl. 'With drums! And then a storm came!' Dad grins. Mum smiles. 'The thunder was so loud,' she says. 'But we did not see the show!'
'Not for long,' says Dad. He comes back with his big drum. Boom, boom-boom! Boy grabs a pot. Clang, clang! Girl gets a pan. Bang, bang! Mum takes my hands, and we leap round the room like the cloud dancers, spinning away. It is louder than the storm. It is sillier than the clouds. We are the best band ever! Well. The best band in the room. Same thing.
Late at night, the moon is low. I peek out the window. The clouds are silver now. And there, deep in the soft clouds, the cloud man lies on his back. Legs up. Fast asleep. 'Sleep well, cloud man,' I say in a hush. I get in bed beside Boy and Girl, and we sleep too. Maybe, way up there, we are in his dream.
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