Celeste was a little cloud, fluffy and white. All the other clouds knew how to rain. They’d puff themselves up, get a little grey, and then… splish, splash! Beautiful raindrops would fall to the flowers and trees below. But Celeste? She just couldn’t seem to do it. She tried and tried, squeezing with all her might, but only little puffs of air came out.
“It’s impossible!” she sighed, watching her friend Nimbus shower a field of sunflowers. “I’ll *never* be able to rain.” Nimbus floated over. “Don’t say that, Celeste! Everything feels impossible at first. Remember when I was learning to make thunder? It sounded like a tiny cough for weeks!”
Celeste giggled, but still felt sad. She floated away, hiding behind a big, grumpy-looking storm cloud. The storm cloud grumbled, “Rain is easy! Just… do it!” Celeste tried again, squeezing and puffing, but nothing happened. She felt a tear – a tiny cloud tear – well up inside her.
Suddenly, Old Man Willow, the wisest tree in the valley, called up to her. “Celeste, dear, what troubles you?” Celeste explained her problem. Old Man Willow smiled. “Sometimes, the most impossible things just need a little different approach. Instead of *trying* to rain, think about how happy the flowers will be when they get a drink. Think about how the little birds will splash and sing.”
Celeste closed her eyes and imagined bright red poppies, thirsty little birds, and the happy green grass. She thought about how good it would *feel* to help them. She didn’t squeeze or puff. She just… thought. And then, a tiny drop fell. Then another, and another! Soon, Celeste was raining a gentle, shimmering shower.
She rained and rained, not a big storm, but a perfect, gentle rain. The flowers lifted their faces, the birds chirped with delight, and Celeste felt a warmth spread through her fluffy cloud body. Nimbus floated over, beaming. “You did it, Celeste! You made the impossible possible!”
Celeste smiled. She learned that day that even the most impossible things can happen if you believe in yourself and think happy thoughts. And as she drifted off to sleep, she knew that tomorrow, she could rain even more beautifully.