"One day as they were having the best sort of a time eating, who should look down at them but the king of the clouds. He looked quite dark and solemn.
"'Te-wit,' said one little bird, and another said,
"'Tr-r-r-i-l-l.'
"'How about some water to drink?' asked the king of the clouds. 'Some nice, fresh water?'
"The birds began chirping for all they were worth. The grown-ups said, 'Listen to the noise the birds are making. It must be going to rain—they're crying for water.'
"And sure enough, they were begging the king of the clouds to send some of his army of raindrops down to the earth.
"'Please, please, please, Cloud King, send us rain-water,' chirped the birds.
"'All right,' roared the cloud king. 'I will.'
"'But we don't want thunder,' said the birds. 'We want to stay out, and we're afraid of thunder. Won't you send us a good old-fashioned shower?'
"And the cloud king called, 'Raindrops, raindrops, come and patter down to the earth. But gently, little raindrops. And when you see the beak of a little bird open, one small raindrop must walk inside.'