Once upon a time, the sun shone and shone, day after day, and not one single raindrop fell. The rice fields turned dry and crackly. The ponds shrank into puddles, and then there were no puddles at all. The frogs stopped singing. The flowers drooped their heads. Everyone was thirsty.

Little Toad sat on a dusty stone and looked up at the big blue sky. "Hmm," he said. "Maybe the Sky has forgotten about us. I will go and ask, very politely, for some rain." He puffed out his cheeks. "Croak, croak! Off I go!"

Hop, hop, hop went Little Toad down the dusty road. Soon he met Crab, walking sideways. "Where are you going, Little Toad?" "I'm going to ask the Sky for rain." "Me too, me too!" said Crab, clicking her claws. Click, click, click. So Toad and Crab went on together. Hop, hop! Click, click!

Next they met a swarm of Bees. "Bzzz! Where are you going?" "To ask the Sky for rain!" "The flowers need water. Bzzz, we'll come too!" Then along came Fox, sniffing the ground. "I know a path up the mountain," said Fox. "Follow me!" Then they found Bear, yawning under a dry tree. "I'm big and strong," said Bear. "I can carry anyone whose legs get tired." Last of all came Tiger, swishing his long stripy tail. "I have a very loud voice," said Tiger. "Maybe it will be useful."

So off they went, all together. Hop, hop! Click, click! Bzzz, bzzz! Sniff, sniff! Stomp, stomp! Swish, swish! Up the mountain, over the clouds, until they reached the Sky Palace, with its tall golden gate and a big drum hanging beside it.

"We must not rush in," said Little Toad. "We must knock and ask nicely." He held the drumstick with both little hands. Boom, boom, boom! Nobody came. He tried again. Boom, boom, BOOM! Still nobody came.

"Maybe everyone is asleep," whispered Crab. So the Bees flew through the gate and buzzed a gentle wake-up song, bzzz-bzzz-bzzz, around the ears of the Rain Keeper, who was snoozing on a soft cloud. Then Tiger gave a big, friendly "ROARRR!" It sounded just like thunder. The Rain Keeper sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Oh my! Who's there?"

All the noise brought the Sky King out too. The animals bowed. Little Toad said, "Please, Your Majesty, it has not rained for a very long time. The fields are thirsty, the frogs can't sing, and the flowers are drooping. Could you please send us some rain?"

The Sky King looked down through the clouds and saw the dry, cracked fields. "Oh dear," he said. "You are right. My Rain Keeper fell asleep, and I was so busy that I didn't notice. I'm sorry, little friends. Thank you for coming all this way and asking so kindly." He turned to the Rain Keeper. "Please open the rain jars!" "Right away!" said the Rain Keeper.

Crab helped push the lids off the big rain jars. Bear helped tip them over, slowly and gently. And the rain began to fall. Pitter, patter, pitter, patter. Then splish, splash, splish, splash! Down on the earth, the ponds filled up, the rice stood green and tall, the flowers lifted their heads, and the frogs sang again. Ribbit, ribbit! Everyone jumped in the puddles.

Before the friends went home, the Sky King patted Little Toad on the head. "You are small, but you are brave and polite. From now on, whenever the earth is thirsty, just croak, and I will hear you." "Thank you, Your Majesty!" said Little Toad.

That is why, even today, when people hear the toads going "croak, croak" at the end of a hot day, they smile and say, "Rain is coming soon." Little Toad is just reminding his friend, the Sky.

Parent tip: Give each animal its own sound, like hop-hop for Toad and click-click for Crab, and invite your child to make the sound each time a new friend joins.

Ask your child: After the story, you can ask: “Who was kind in this story, and what did they do?”

This gentle retelling has no fighting at all; the animals simply work together and ask politely.