*****
Tickle Box
The Kite with the Rainbow Tail
“I wish! I wish!” yelled little Bobby, as he walked across the meadow and disappeared into the tall grass. “I wish a lot of things,” he said. “I wish I knew how it would be to fly high in the sky.”
Bobby lay down in the tall grass on the side of the hill. The wind gently blew the grass as Bobby gazed up at the sky where he saw giant, fluffy, snow white clouds against the deep blue sky. I wonder what it would be like up there floating around without a care in the world, he thought.
“I wish; I wish I could be up there,” he bellowed, “looking down at the world below.”
Suddenly, little Bobby saw a kite with a rainbow tail flying high in the sky. He jumped up to get a better look. The kite floated downward until its string was dangling in front of him, waving back and forth in the wind.
“Oh, boy,” he shouted, “a kite.”
Bobby grabbed the string; the kite lifted him high into the sky.
“Wow!” exclaimed Bobby. “I can fly! I can fly!”
When he looked down, he became afraid and his little lip quivered. He held tightly to the string and upward. Up, up and away he flew across the sky with his little feet dangling in the air.
As he climbed higher, Bobby looked up and saw a beautiful rainbow arched across the sky. Up, up climbed the kite until it was inside the rainbow. Bobby looked around at all the sparkly and glittery colored drops of water created by the sunshine. Up and up floated the kite as it exited the rainbow; it climbed higher and higher. Bobby noticed his shirt and smiled. It had changed to the colors of the rainbow.
“That’s neat,” he yelled.
He laughed and giggled as he swung underneath the kite. He swung back and forth in the wind.
“Weeeee! Weeeee!” he yelled.
Suddenly, he swung as hard as he could, let go of the string and jumped onto a cloud. This is great, he thought as he walked around on the cloud. It’s so soft and fluffy, just like I imagined. It’s a marshmallow heaven with angel hair. He wandered around knee-deep in the clouds.
“Ahhhhh!” he yelled when he unexpectedly fell through a hole in the cloud and onto another one. “Weeeee, this is fun!” he laughed.
He jumped up and down on the cloud as if he were on a trampoline. And he rolled around, tumbling over and over.
“This is the greatest,” he exclaimed. “Aaaachooo!” he sneezed after a little bit of the cloud tickled his nose.
As far as his little eyes could see there was no end to the sky. It was above, beside and under him. He couldn’t see any sign of home. Carefully, Bobby peeped over the edge of the cloud. He was beginning to get homesick.
“What am I going to do? How will I ever get home?” he sighed.
He looked over his shoulder and saw the kite with the rainbow tail flopping in the wind. Bobby grabbed the kite by its ends and flew off on a gust of wind through the sky like he was hang-gliding. He flew from cloud to cloud.
“Weeeee,” laughed Bobby as he flew across the sky.
Shortly, he landed on top of a giant black cloud. Bobby became afraid because each time he stepped on the dark cloud, it would rain. And whenever he stomped his foot, lightning would flash. Bobby looked over the edge of the cloud. A bad storm was raging beneath him. What am I going to do, he thought. Out of nowhere, there came a mighty gust of wind. Bobby grabbed the kite and hung on for his life. He was tossed around by the mighty wind; he tumbled over and over. He struggled to make it through the storm. He fought and fought until, finally, he made his way through the storm and inside a thunder cloud. Boom went the thunder. Flash went the lightning. The lightning struck the kite and broke it in half. Bobby wandered around inside the thunder cloud and waded through the water in search of a way out. The thunder cloud was scary, dark and wet inside. Boom went the thunder again. Flash went the lightning as Bobby held on to his broken kite.
“There’s got to be a way out,” he cried.
Bobby walked from one long, dark and winding cloud to another. There must be a way out, he thought, but where? Then he spotted a small beam of light in front of him.
“It’s a way out!” he cried.
He ran through the cloud as fast as he could until he reached the beam of light.
“This has got to be the way,” he mumbled. “It just has to be.”
Finally, he made it. The light was so bright it hurt his eyes. He squeezed his little body through the hole of light and climbed out on top of the cloud. Quickly, he used his shoelaces to repair the kite. The thunder cloud was swiftly breaking up; there was no time to lose. Bobby had to get off the thunder cloud or he would fall from the sky. He took off running as fast as he could, sending the kite high into the sky. Up! Up! High into the sky he flew on the kite with the rainbow tail. As Bobby looked back, all he could see were traces of the thunderstorm he left behind.
“Safe at last,” he sighed.
As he sailed through the sky, Bobby realized he was getting very tired. His eyes became heavy; he yawned. When he reached to rub his eyes, he accidentally let go of the kite string and fell through the sky onto another soft and fluffy white cloud. He stretched out and lay back on the cloud. Bobby floated through the sky soaking up the warm sun. He was so relaxed he fell asleep. He floated aimlessly in the beautiful blue sky. Time soon passed as the day became night. He was startled awake by the cool night air. Bobby was afraid of the dark and wanted to go home. He sat on the edge of the cloud, looked out at the night sky, wondered how he was going to get home and started to cry.
“I wish! I wish!” he cried. “I wish I was back at home.”
He looked across the night sky once again and saw a shooting star. He watched it fall out of sight and then made a wish.
“I wish, little star, that I could go home.”
Bobby looked to his right, to his left and around the edge of the cloud. Zoom! Zoom! Zoom fell three falling stars at his side. The stars wrapped their tails of light around the edge of the cloud, fell toward the ground and pulled Bobby back home.
“Bobby! Bobby! Wake up!” shouted a little voice.
Bobby woke up, rose up out of the tall grass and saw Jennifer, his sister, running toward him.
“Have you been day dreaming again?” she asked.
Bobby just yawned and stretched.
“Look, Bobby,” she said, “what Daddy bought me. It’s a kite with a rainbow tail,” she said with a laugh.
“It’s beautiful,” he replied. “Just like the…”
“Hurray, Bobby, it’s late. Mama wants us home right now,” she interrupted.
Bobby started to say just like the kite in his dream. But, he didn’t get a chance to.
“But, sis,” he responded, “you’re not going to believe what happened to me.”
“Tell me later,” she replied. “Tomorrow I want you to help me fly my kite with the rainbow tail.”