Franklin and the Thunderstorm (2 page)

Franklin held on to Fox’s mother all the way from the tree to the house. They were barely in the door when there was a flash of zigzag light.

“Lightning!” shrieked Franklin. He trembled.

KA-BOOM!

“Thunder!” he screamed.

“It’s okay, Franklin,” said his friends. “We’re safe here.”

But Franklin had crawled deep inside his shell.

Fox’s mother brought treats. Still, Franklin wouldn’t come out.

Franklin’s friends begged him to play. But Franklin stayed put.

Then, with a flash and a crash, the lights went out.

“Don’t worry,” said Fox’s mother. She lit candles and turned on a flashlight.

“Won’t you come out now?” she asked Franklin.

“No thank you,” he mumbled.

“Don’t be afraid,” said Hawk. “All that noise is just cloud giants playing drums in the sky.”

Franklin peeked out. “Really?” he asked.

“No it’s not,” giggled Snail. “That noise is made when the giants go bowling.”

Franklin came out of his shell. “But what about the lightning?”

“That’s easy,” said Hawk. “The cloud giants are turning their lights on and off.”

Fox smiled. “I think it’s the giants swinging from their chandeliers.”

Franklin laughed.

“Giants! That’s ridiculous,” said Beaver. “Mr. Owl says lightning is a big spark of electricity that travels from the sky to the ground. The spark is so hot that it makes the air around it POP! That’s the sound of thunder.”

“Amazing!” said Franklin.

Franklin felt a little better. He even played flashlight tag with his friends.

Soon, there was hardly any lightning. The thunder was a low rumble from far away, and the rain stopped.

Then the lights went on.

“Storm’s over!” said Fox. “Let’s go outside and play.”

“Look,” said Franklin. “A rainbow!”

“I know why the storm is over,” Franklin said. “Those giants heard there’s a pot of gold at the end of every rainbow, and they’ve gone to find it.”

Even Beaver had to smile.