In the old days,
when he had only seen a rain-cloud from below, he had imagined that they
were gray and disagreeable; but it was a very different thing to be up
amongst them. Now he saw distinctly that the clouds were enormous carts,
which drove through the heavens with sky-high loads. Some of them were
piled up with huge, gray sacks, some with barrels; some were so large
that they could hold a whole lake; and a few were filled with big
utensils and bottles which were piled up to an immense height. And when
so many of them had driven forward that they filled the whole sky, it
appeared as though someone had given a signal, for all at once, water
commenced to pour down over the earth, from utensils, barrels, bottles
and sacks.
Just as the first spring-showers pattered against the ground, there
arose such shouts of joy from all the small birds in groves and
pastures, that the whole air rang with them and the boy leaped high
where he sat. "Now we'll have rain. Rain gives us spring; spring gives
us flowers and green leaves; green leaves and flowers give us worms and
insects; worms and insects give us food; and plentiful and good food is
the best thing there is," sang the birds.
The wild geese, too, were glad of the rain which came to awaken the
growing things from their long sleep, and to drive holes in the
ice-roofs on the lakes.
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