The Tale of the Thunderstorm

Illustration by John  Age:  8
Mrs. Cindy Webb's 1rst grade class

         Audra the duck, Emerson the dragonfly, Xavier the frog, and Summer and Madison the butterfly twins were playing hide and seek in the clearing.  Madison and Summer were hiding in a patch of tall grass on the edge of the clearing.  Audra was it, and she had found everyone but the twins.

            Suddenly a clap of thunder sounded, and Madison flew into the air giving away their position.  Audra yelled at Madison, “I see you.  You’re out.”  Then she waddled over to the grass and found Summer as well.

            Summer called out to Madison, “You gave us away!”

            “It thundered,” cried Madison.  “You know how I feel about storms.”

            “It was only a little thunder,” said Summer.  “That does not make a storm.”

            Then it thundered again, and Madison flew around frantically trying to find somewhere to hide.

            “We have to find shelter!” exclaimed Madison.  “The storm will be here any minute!”

            “Alright,” sighed Summer.  “Maybe we should start looking for shelter.”

            The five friends set off into the tall grass in search of shelter.  After a few minutes the wind began to blow making the grass sway from side to side.  Emerson and the twins had to start flying very low to the ground.

            “The grass can’t protect us!” cried Madison.  “See how the wind moves it around!  We have to find something more solid!”

            “Madison, calm down,” said Summer.  “Anybody have any ideas where we can find more solid shelter?”

            “The cattails around the pond would be just as bad as the grass,” said Emerson.

Illustration by Alexandria  Age:  6
Mrs. Cindy Webb's 1rst grade class

            “With the lightning, we really don’t need to be on Polliwog Pond, either,” added Audra.

            “Isn’t there a big bush over by the fence in between the tall grass and the people yard?” asked Xavier.

            “I think you’re right,” said Summer.  “Xavier, you go ahead and see if it will work since you can go faster than the rest of us right now.  We’ll get there as soon as we can.”

            With that, Xavier hopped away to find the big bush.  The rest of the friends started heading in that direction as well even though the wind made it difficult for the flyers.

            Just then it thundered again and began to rain.  Madison landed on the ground and began to cry uncontrollably.

            “We’re going to die!” Madison sobbed.   “We’ll never make it to the bush in time!”

            “Madison!” exclaimed Summer.  “Get a hold of yourself.  We will never make it to the bush if you sit here crying and screaming.  Now get up and get going!”

            Madison gave her sister a stunned look, and then obeyed.  The rain made it even more difficult for the flyers, but they slowly made their way to the fence.  When they reached the fence, Xavier hopped up to them.

            “Hey guys, follow me,” said Xavier.  “I found the perfect shelter for us.”

            Xavier led the way to a large evergreen bush.  The bottom of the bush was at least a foot off the ground and underneath it a layer of evergreen needles made a soft blanket on the ground.  The five friends crawled under the bush and huddled next to the trunk.

            “This is almost cozy,” said Audra.

            “Yeah, the bush is so thick the rain doesn’t even reach down this far,” said Emerson.

            Madison still sat wide-eyed with fright.  The wind still made the bush sway slightly, and the thunder was now coming more frequently.  Now the storm was close enough that the lightning lit up the countryside.  She began to tremble and cry again.

            “Madison,” said her sister.  “Calm down.  We’re safe now.”

            “Yeah, Madison,” added Audra.  “This is just a passing thunderstorm.  It’ll be over in just a little while.”

            “But the thunder is so loud and the wind makes it impossible to fly!” sobbed Madison.  “I want it to stop now!”

            “Thunder is just noise, Madison,” said Xavier.  “It can’t hurt you.  And the wind doesn’t even reach us in here.”

            “Yeah,” said Emerson as he flew around a little under the bush.  “See I can fly in here.  We really are safe in here.  You don’t have to be afraid.”

            Madison wiped her eyes and looked around.  It thundered again, but this time she didn’t jump.  Xavier was right.  Thunder can’t hurt you.  For the first time since the storm started, Madison began to feel safe.

            While the friends huddled under the bush, they pretended to be explorers taking shelter from a great storm.  Madison got so involved in the play that she completely forgot about the storm.  She was having too much fun with her friends.