Nimbus the Cloud and the Rumble Inside

Chapter 1: A cloud who is angry and learns to calm down

High above a patchwork valley called Meadowlark, there lived a small gray cloud named Nimbus. Nimbus was round and puffy, with a face that could turn from sunny white to stormy charcoal in the blink of an eye.

Most days, he drifted along happily, floating past birds, tickling the treetops, and waving at the children below. But Nimbus had a problem. When he got angry, he got really angry.

If a bird flew through him without asking, he turned dark and grumbled. If the wind pushed him off course, he puffed up and rumbled. And if another cloud drifted too close, he shouted, "Move over! You're in my sky!"

BOOM! went his thunder. CRACK! went his lightning.

Down below, the animals of Meadowlark ran for cover. Picnics were ruined. Laundry got soaked. A little rabbit named Poppy once lost her kite in one of his tantrums, and it came down in a puddle, torn and soggy.

Afterward, when Nimbus had rained himself out, he felt small and empty. The sky was quiet, and the other clouds kept their distance.

"I don't mean to," he would sigh. "It just bursts out of me."

One windy afternoon, a flock of geese flew straight through his middle, honking and laughing.

"Hey!" Nimbus thundered. "That's rude!"

His edges turned dark. His belly rumbled. Lightning crackled across his face. He felt the storm rising, hot and heavy, ready to burst over the village below, where the Harvest Picnic was just beginning.