And Then It Rained . . . ...And Then the Sun Came Out...

And then it rained...
And what a long time since it has rained! A whole apartment building full of overjoyed neighbors revel in the raininess. It's the perfect day to read a book on dinosaurs, to stay home and bake bread, or even to go out for a splishy-splashy adventure to a café with your father for a bowl of hot soup.
But when it keeps raining day after day after day, baking bread becomes dull, and splishy-splashy walks become plain old wet ones and not at all adventuresome. You begin to long for the kind of weather where you'd want to eat ice cream, not soup. Naturally everyone starts grumbling....Everyone, that is, except for the wise father of one grouchy little boy because...

The sun comes out! And what a long time since it has come! A whole apartment building full of overjoyed neighbors celebrate the sunniness. For it's the perfect day to go roller skating, visit the bakery, or put on your shiny cool sunglasses and stroll out for a sunny day adventure, including a ringside seat at an outdoor café with your father for a dish of ice cream.
But when the sun gets hotter and hotter, day after day after day, roller skating gets exhausting, and a walk becomes less and less of an adventure and more and more uncomfortable. You begin to long for the kind of weather where you'd want to eat soup, not ice cream. Naturally everyone starts grumbling....Everyone, that is, except for the wise father of one grouchy little boy because...

Crescent Dragonwagon's books for children include Half a Moon and One Whole Star and Home Place. She's also the author of several novels, a book of poetry, and cookbooks, such as Passionate Vegetarian. With her late husband Ned Shank, she is the cofounder of the Writers' Colony at Dairy Hollow in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. That's where she lives, and it can be rainy or sunny there -- sometimes both in one day. You can also visit her on the Web at www.dragonwagon.com, where the weather is whatever you'd like it to be.