The Raindrop Spies

Ten-year-old Leo loved two things more than anything: playing baseball and sitting by the pond behind his house watching the rain. His grandmother had told him a secret once: 'Every raindrop is a tiny spy from the clouds, Leo. They come down to see what children are doing, then race back home to tell the clouds all about it.' Leo believed her completely.

One afternoon, Leo was practicing his baseball swing alone in the backyard when the sky turned purple. Storm clouds gathered faster than he'd ever seen. *CRACK!* Lightning bolted across the sky like a giant zipper opening the heavens. Rain began to fall — not ordinary rain, but drops that seemed to sparkle like tiny diamonds.

Leo held out his baseball glove, and a single raindrop landed right in the center. It didn't splash. Instead, it wobbled like jelly and spoke in a whispery voice: 'Hello! I'm Plop. I've been spying on you all summer! You swing that bat with so much joy!' Leo's eyes went wide. A real live raindrop spy!

'I'm supposed to return to the clouds now,' Plop said sadly. 'The lightning is our elevator home.'

'Wait!' Leo cried. 'Take me with you! I've always wondered what clouds look like from up there.' He grabbed his baseball. 'I'll show your cloud friends what this game looks like!'

Plop grew brighter and zipped onto Leo's shoulder. 'Hold on tight!' Another lightning bolt struck — *ZZZ-ZIP!* — and suddenly Leo was floating upward on a beam of light, spiraling higher and higher. The wind rushed past his ears like laughter.

Inside the cloud kingdom, thousands of raindrop spies crowded around Leo. They'd never seen baseball before. Leo demonstrated his swing, tossing the ball and hitting it into the cloud mist. The raindrops cheered like tiny bells. He taught them how to catch, how to throw, how to work together as a team.

'Working together makes everything better,' Leo told them. 'That's why baseball is fun — everyone has a part to play.' The raindrops nodded. They'd always just spied alone, never imagining they could be a team.

When it was time to go, Plop gave Leo a rainbow-striped pebble. 'So you'll remember us,' the little drop said. *ZZZ-ZIP!* The lightning carried Leo home, landing him gently in his wet backyard just as the sun broke through.

Leo's grandmother found him sitting by the pond, holding the rainbow stone. 'Looks like the raindrop spies found you,' she smiled.

'Yeah,' Leo whispered, watching the sun dance on the water. 'And I taught them something too — friendship is the best game of all.'