- Oh, how I'd love to get out through here.
- Push!
- I can't fit!
- Harder!
- I can't fit!
- Hold on, I'll push you out!
- Aaah...
„Splash” came the sound, all of a sudden.
Drip had managed to slip out of the dense, dark-grey cloud, heavy with its condensed beads of water. She had dreamed of this very moment ever since she was nothing but a wisp of vapour.
- Farewell, said Drop joyfully, and then turned back, sad, to the other water drops in the cloud.
Drip was clever by nature: she was the one who kept the spirits of all her friends up, the one who invented all sorts of games and stories, the one who came up with the best ideas for games and things to do.
- Faaaalling, Drip cried out happily, drinking in every layer of the atmosphere on her way down to the earth. She felt the breath of the wind, her lips trembling, though she couldn't tell whether it was from excitement or from the speed. Either way, she felt them both. The smell of dust, however, made her lose her enthusiasm sooner than she would have liked.
- Oh dear, she said to herself, settling onto a leaf, everything is ruined, what dry, parched earth. Where are the crops? Everything is so...
- Sad? came a voice all at once. It was the Sunflower. This year has been a very hard year, I'm amazed that you even made it down here.
- What can I do to help you?
- You're too small, too alone. Look around you, whole acres of land, you don't have the strength to lift even me, let alone save this entire region. Still, I'll admit, your touch upon my leaf has fed my soul a little.
It took Drip just two seconds to piece together her master plan.
- I need to evaporate! Right now!
- But you've only just arrived, the Sunflower said.
- If I sink down to your roots now, all on my own, just as you said yourself, I can't save a thing. But if I manage to reach my friends who are still trapped in the cloud, I could find a way for us all to get out of there, and then, together, we can save you.
The Sunflower wasn't convinced by all that Drip was going on about, but seeing her so determined, she didn't want to let her down, so she said: „All right!”.
A little while later, Drip began to evaporate, rising gently towards the sky. She was lighter now, and not very strong at all, yet even so she strained with all her might to return to the cloud where her friends were still trapped.
- Drip, you came back, Drop said happily.
- I did! You won't believe what it's like down there, it's a disaster! Everything is ruined and dry!
- But, Drip, another raindrop answered, you know how much we long to get out of here too, but we can't!
- It can't be that we can't. Listen to me, when I got out of the cloud, you pushed me and I made it!
- Yes!
- We'll put the smaller drops in the front row, then the slightly bigger ones, then the bigger ones still.
- It's hard, said one of the more pessimistic drops.
- It's simple, Drip replied! What matters is that together we become so heavy that we manage to fall out of this cloud and tumble freely down to the earth! Girls, the journey is so beautiful that I promise you it will be worth every bit of effort!
- We have nothing to lose, Drop chimed in, encouraging the more doubtful little ladies. Rather than sitting here all rained out, let's go and rain!
At once, the girls set about getting organized. Just as they had agreed, they lined themselves up without much fuss.
- Heey!
- Hooop
- Wheeee
- Splash!
The drops began to dance in the warm air, spinning round now and then in a merry circle. A lovely smell spread all around. Watching this spectacle, the Sunflower whispered, delighted:
- That girl will go far!
Drip waved to the Sunflower.
- Is anyone thirsty? she asked
Their laughter rang out like rain, you could hear it from everywhere.