That day, the sky was full of clouds, but only one looked truly grumpy.
She was small, round, and all white, and her name was Nuvina.
The other clouds passed by, greeting her: “We’re off to make a storm in the mountains!” “I’m bringing rain to the lake!”
But Nuvina shook her tail of wind and replied, “No, thank you. I don’t want to rain. I don’t want to get anyone wet—especially the dogs in the park!”
Down below, in the meadow, was Piuma: a honey-colored little dog who loved to chase butterflies. She looked up and said,
“Hey, cloud! Why do you look so serious?”
“Because if I rain, everyone gets wet and nobody’s happy,” answered Nuvina, pretending not to tremble.
“That’s not true,” said Piuma. “I love the rain! It brings out the smells of grass, leaves, and sticks. It’s like reading a whole new book with your nose!”
Nuvina hesitated. “But what about the mud?”
“Mud is proof you’ve had fun,” barked Piuma, wagging her tail so hard it almost stirred the wind. “And when it rains, humans open their umbrellas and laugh watching us run. It’s a party from the sky!”
The cloud stayed quiet for a moment, then let a timid drop fall, soft as a heartbeat.
Piuma felt it land on her nose, licked it, and laughed. “See? Not so bad, right?”
Then Nuvina took courage and began to rain for real. But it was a gentle rain, as soft as a caress.
The flowers stretched taller, the grass turned greener, and in the middle of the meadow, Piuma rolled with joy.
“Thank you,” said the little dog, looking up.
“Thank you,” replied the cloud. “I just needed someone to teach me not to be afraid of what I was born to do.”
And from that day on, every time it rains, Piuma lifts her nose and thinks that somewhere in the sky, there’s a little cloud smiling just for her.
