Kiki and the Rain Lullaby

Far away, in a great green rainforest, lived a little monkey called Kiki. She had a hammock made from a big, soft leaf, and it hung between two trees under an even bigger banana leaf.

In the daytime, Kiki climbed high up into the trees. She swung from branch to branch, she ate bananas, and she played hide-and-seek with the parrots.

But now the sun had gone down, and Kiki was back in her hammock.

It began to rain.

First came one drop. Plip. It landed on the banana leaf above her.

Then came another. Plop.

And then lots of them. Plip, plop, plip, plop.

"Listen," Kiki said to her little pillow. "The rain is singing."

She listened. The rain drummed gently on the banana leaf, but not a single drop got through to her. The leaf was like a roof, like an umbrella, like a big green hand keeping her dry.

All around her, the fireflies switched on their tiny lanterns. They floated between the trees like golden dots in the dark. And far below, the mist lay soft and purple, like a blanket over the ground.

The hammock swayed a little. Back and forth. Back and forth.

"Plip, plop," Kiki whispered along with the rain. "Plip, plop."

She thought about everything that was sleeping in the rainforest. The parrots, who had tucked their heads under their wings. The frogs, who sat beneath their leaves croaking quieter and quieter. The butterflies, who had folded their wings like little books.

"Everyone's asleep," said Kiki with a yawn. "And the rain is singing to them."

She curled up and wrapped her tail around herself like a seashell. The pillow was soft against her cheek.

The rain sang on. It sang about the tree roots drinking, and the leaves shining, and the river babbling far away. It was the loveliest lullaby Kiki had ever heard.

"Thank you, rain," she mumbled.

The hammock swayed, slowly, slowly. The fireflies glowed, softly, softly.

Plip… plop… plip…

And little Kiki slept, warm and dry, under her big green roof, while the rain sang all night long.

Tomorrow the sun would come back, and everything would sparkle with raindrops. But that was tomorrow.

Now it was night. Now it was time to sleep.

Goodnight, Kiki.