Tilda and the Ticklish Cloud

A Grey Little Day

Tilda loved to play in the garden.

She loved the green grass. She loved the yellow flowers. She loved the warm sun on her nose.

But one morning, Tilda looked up and the sun was hiding. A small grey cloud sat low in the sky. It looked sad and droopy.

"Hello, cloud," said Tilda. "Why are you so grey?"

The Shy Cloud

The little cloud sniffled. A tiny raindrop fell.

"I am grey," said the cloud, "because I am shy. I think nobody wants me here. When I come, the sun goes away. So everyone frowns."

Tilda put her hands on her hips. "That is not true!" she said. "I want you here. Come down and play!"

The cloud floated down, very slow and very low, right above the grass.

A Silly Idea

"How can I make you smile?" asked Tilda.

She sat down on the soft green grass and looked up at the droopy grey cloud. She did not want her new friend to feel sad. She wanted to see it laugh.

She thought and thought. She tapped her chin. She wiggled her toes. Then she had a giggly idea.

"I know!" she said. "I bet you are TICKLISH!"

The cloud blinked its soft white eyes. "Ticklish? Clouds are not ticklish."

"Let us see!" said Tilda. She reached up and wiggled her fingers in the cloud's fluffy edge.

A Tiny Giggle

The cloud felt the little wiggle on its fluffy edge.

"Hee!" said the cloud. A tiny giggle slipped out. "Oh! That tickles!"

Tilda laughed. "See? You ARE ticklish!"

She made a funny face. She crossed her eyes and stuck out her tongue and hopped like a frog.

The cloud watched and a little smile peeked out.

A Big Laugh

Tilda did a silly dance. She wobbled. She spun. She fell down in the soft grass and bounced right back up.

"Ho ho ho!" laughed the cloud. "HA HA HA!"

The cloud laughed so big that it shook all over. And do you know what happens when a cloud laughs really, really hard?

It turns from grey... to white... to bright and fluffy!

The Bright Ending

The little cloud was not grey anymore. It was the whitest, happiest cloud in the whole sky.

The sun peeked back out and shone all around it. The cloud looked like a big soft pillow made of light.

"Thank you, Tilda," said the cloud. "You made me laugh. Now I do not feel shy at all!"

"Come back whenever you like," said Tilda. "Grey or white, you are always my friend."

And from that day on, whenever a little cloud felt shy and grey, Tilda waved up at the sky. She made a funny face. And soon the whole sky was full of happy, laughing clouds.

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The gentle lesson: Everyone feels grey or shy sometimes. A little kindness and a big laugh can brighten anyone's day.

More stories to read: meet a sleepy friend in Bramble the Bear Can't Sleep or a kind giant in The Friendly Dragon.