fiction | short stories

[The following of story was written by Leo in Shelby, Ohio for his young son Eugene (age 6-7) during the years 1918-1919.]

The Story of Billy Rain-Drop
by Edward Edson Lee

Little Billy Rain-drop lived way up in the sky. When he played he could look down and see the houses and trees. One day Billy saw little "Gee" Lee riding Old Gray on the back porch and Billy went right in asked his daddy to get him a pony like Old Gray.

Little Billy had a lot of brothers and sisters and they were all little bits of people like himself. You know, Billy Rain-drop was just a little, round drop of water, the same as hundreds of other drops of water that fall out of the sky when it rains.

One day Little Billy Rain-drop shouted, and he danced up and down so excitedly that he almost rolled out of the sky before it was the proper time. All his brothers and sisters were equally excited, for they all wanted to see grandma Tuttle and Old Gray. They wanted to see Jack and Old Ed too.

Little Billy's daddy told Billy and his brothers and sisters not to get excited, for if they did they were likely to fall so hard that they would never be rain-drops any more. You see, Daddy Rain-drop was bigger and wiser than Little Rain-drop children. But they were so impatient that they lost their balance and soon they began falling out of the sky.

But Little Billy wasn't afraid. He didn't mind falling out of the sky for he could look down and see the big tree in front of grandma's house and he knows that Little "Gee" Lee was watching out of the front window and would see Billy fall into the mud puddle in the yard.

When Little Billy Rain-drop landed in the mud puddle he found a lot of his brothers and sisters. There were so many of the Rain-drop children in the puddle that they made quite a pond of water. Little "Gee" Lee pressed his nose against the front window and watched the Rain-drop children as they danced about in the puddle. They seemed to be having a lot of fun, and indeed they were.

"Look at all the nice trees and bushed" Billy Rain-drop shouted, dancing up and down in the puddle.

"And see the people passing along the walk with umbrellas over their head," another little Rain-drop chimed in.

Just then the sun began to shine and the rain stopped falling. This made Billy Rain-drop and his brothers and sisters feel unhappy, for when it quit raining they couldn't dance up and down any more.

Little "Gee" was happy when it quit raining. He ran to his mamma and asked her if "Gee" could go out and play in the puddle with Billy Rain-drop. Of course, Little "Gee" didn't know just where he would find Billy Rain-drop in the puddle, but he knew that he was there, because daddy said so.

Pretty soon the sun began to shine brighter and brighter and Billy Rain-drop and his brothers and sisters began to dry up. Little "Gee" came out in his bare feet and splashed about in the puddle. Once he stepped on Billy Rain-drop and Billy squeaked but Little "Gee" was having so much fun he never noticed.

When the sun was dreadfully warm and the puddle was almost dried up, Daddy Rain-drop called out of the sky and told Billy and his brothers and sisters to come back up in the sky. Little Billy was glad to do this for he didn't like to have "Gee" step on him.

But Billy and his sisters and brothers are going to come down out of the sky again one of these days and the next time it rains Little "Gee" wants to watch the puddle in the front yard. Maybe Little Billy Rain-drop will fall on the roof and run into the cistern but the chances are he will fall into the puddle in the front yard.

Be sure and write to daddy and tell him when Billy Rain-drop drops down out of the sky.

Daddy will tell "Gee" another story when he gets the time--a story about a little bird that built a nest under a big rock and one night it rained and the little Rain-drops fell so fast the little bird was almost washed away.