The Girl and the Cloud Turtle

The Girl and the Cloud Turtle - Author : Ebru Mina TOMURCUK

On a grey afternoon, a girl named Lila stood in her garden. She wore a yellow raincoat and blue rubber boots. Her curly black hair bounced in two puffy buns. In her red backpack, she carried a notebook for drawing clouds. Lila looked up at the sky and smiled. She loved days when the clouds played hideand-seek with the sun. 1

Suddenly, something moved between the clouds. Lila blinked her big amber eyes. It was a turtle! A turtle swimming through the sky! Its teal-green shell had white swirls like clouds. Its flippers left trails of mist. Lila's round cheeks flushed with excitement. She had never seen anything so amazing. She waved her arms, but the turtle didn't notice. 2

Lila had an idea. She ran to the tallest tree in the garden. Its branches reached high into the sky. She climbed up, her red backpack bouncing. "Excuse me!" she called. The cloud turtle turned its big kind eyes toward her. "Hello, little one," it said in a gentle voice. "I didn't know humans could climb this high." Lila grinned, showing her gap-toothed smile. 3

The cloud turtle swam closer. "My name is Taro," it said. "I am looking for my friend, a little raincloud. It has gone missing." Lila noticed a thin silver ribbon tied around one of its flippers. "I can help you!" she said bravely. "I'm good at finding things." Taro smiled. "Hop on my back. We'll search the sky together." 4

Lila climbed onto the turtle's soft teal shell. It felt like a warm, grassy hill. Taro's flippers stirred the misty air, and they rose higher and higher. Below, Lila's house looked like a tiny toy. "Where did you last see the raincloud?" she asked. Taro sighed. "It was playing with the other clouds, then it wandered off. It's shy and gets sulky." 5

They swam past fluffy white clouds and wispy ones that looked like cotton candy. Lila kept her amber eyes wide open. "What does it look like?" she asked. "Small and round, like a beanbag," said Taro. "It has droopy sleepy eyes and tiny arms. It often leaks a little drizzle when it's sad." Lila wrote that down in her notebook. 6

They searched behind a big grey cloud, but it was empty. They looked under a rainbow, but no raincloud. Lila's yellow raincoat flapped in the wind. "Don't worry," she told Taro. "We'll find it." Taro's misty flippers slowed. "I hope so," it said softly. "The ground is very thirsty, and without the raincloud, no rain will fall." 7

Just then, Lila spotted a mountain of fluff. It was the biggest cloud she had ever seen. "Look!" she cried, pointing. "Something is hiding behind that fluffy mountain." Taro squinted his big kind eyes. "You might be right," he said. "Let's take a closer look." They swam toward the mountain of fluff, leaving trails of mist behind them. 8

Behind the fluff mountain, they found the lost raincloud. It was small and round, with droopy sleepy eyes and a little frowning mouth. A faint drizzle leaked from its bottom. "There you are!" said Taro. But the raincloud turned away. "I don't want to come back," it mumbled. "I feel left out. The other clouds never play with me." 9

Lila knelt down beside the raincloud. "I'm sorry you feel left out," she said gently. "But Taro misses you. And the ground needs your rain." The raincloud's droopy eyes widened. "Really?" it sniffled. "Yes!" said Taro. "You make the flowers grow and the rivers flow. You are very important." A tiny smile appeared on the raincloud's face. 10

Lila had an idea. "Let's all push together!" she said. "With teamwork, we can move the cloud back to the sky." Taro nodded. "Good plan, Lila." Lila pushed from one side, Taro pushed from the other, and the raincloud gave a little wiggle. Slowly, they rolled it out from behind the fluff mountain. It was hard work, but they didn't give up. 11

They pushed and rolled the raincloud until it was back in its place among the other clouds. The raincloud giggled as the fluff tickled its sides. "That was fun!" it said. "I'm glad I have friends like you." Taro smiled. "And we're glad to have you back." Lila wiped her forehead. Her yellow raincoat was dusty, but she felt happy inside. 12

Then the raincloud began to rain. It was a gentle rain, soft and warm. It fell on the thirsty ground below, and the flowers lifted their heads. The trees drank deeply. Lila held out her hand and caught a raindrop. "Thank you, Lila," said Taro. "You helped us find our friend and bring rain to the earth." 13

Lila hugged Taro's big neck. "I'll never forget this day," she said. "And I'll never forget you." Taro tied his silver ribbon around her wrist. "A gift," he said. "So you'll always remember that imagination can lead to wonderful discoveries." Lila smiled her gap-toothed smile. "I will remember," she promised. 14

Taro and the raincloud waved goodbye as Lila climbed back down the tree. Her blue rubber boots landed softly on the grass. She looked up and saw the turtle swimming away, leaving a trail of mist. The silver ribbon fluttered on her wrist. She knew she had made two new friends in the sky.