Dancing in the rain

CEBU, Philippines -  One morning, Brad, the world’s smartest rat, asked a favor from Dog-las, the grumpy dog.

“I’ll be going on a trip today, ‘las,” said Brad, “and since there are reports of a storm coming, I have a favor to ask of you.”

“Consider it done, Brad! What is it?” asked Dog-las.

“Well… you know how the kittens are with bad weather... I was hoping you could keep them company through the storm while I’m away,” Brad explained.

Dog-las knew about how fearful Blackfoot, Whitefang and Stripe were of storms, just as he also knew about how Brad was always with them while waiting for storms to pass.

So he agreed to be with the kittens while Brad was out of town.

After seeing Brad off on his trip, Dog-las then did what any responsible guardian in his situation would do: he checked up on the latest weather report.

Though Dog-las was a grumpy dog, he wasn’t stupid. He knew that meteorology – the science involving weather forecasts and predictions – is not an exact science, just like how graphology – the science of understanding the personality of a person through his or her penmanship – isn’t an absolute science, too.

By keeping himself updated with the latest weather report, Dog-las learned that the storm reported earlier wasn’t going to hit the neighborhood that day since it shifted its course.  Scattered rains were to be expected, though, and with this information, he decided to teach the kittens a valuable lesson.

When it rained later that afternoon, Dog-las went out of his way to dance in the rain. The three kittens found it strange that the grumpy Dog-las was very happy about the rain.

“Come on, guys,” Dog-las called out enthusiastically. “There’s nothing to be afraid of!”

Since Dog-las was rarely in a cheerful mood, Blackfoot, Whitefang and Stripe were hesitant to join Dog-las in his “rain dance”, but they eventually did.

At first they weren’t really into the spirit of dancing in the rain, being fearful of storms and all, but Dog-las’ crazy moves were enough to put their fears away.

Though they actually hated getting wet, Blackfoot, Whitefang and Stripe were having a lot of fun with Dog-las, as they danced in the rain.

After their merrymaking, Dog-las then told the kittens about the weather report and how the storm had shifted its course.

The kittens, who were wet but happy, knew there was something behind the rain and the dancing, but since they were happy, it didn’t really bother them.

Dog-las then shared his lesson to the three.

“Do you see now, little kittens?” said Dog-las. “Sometimes, waiting for the storm to pass isn’t the best way to go about with life.

“In fact, the happiest in the world are not those who wait for the storm to pass, but those who learn to dance in the rain.” (FREEMAN)