Sophie sat on the steps under the porch roof, watching the sky fill with grey clouds. It wasn't a storm, just a quiet summer shower. The air smelled of wet earth and grass. First one drop fell, then another, and suddenly it began to rain. Drip, drop, drip, whispered the rain.
A short distance from the steps stood an old tin watering can. One brave drop landed right on its shiny back. DING! a clear, ringing tone echoed. Sophie sat up in surprise. That was interesting! Right after, another drop landed on a large burdock leaf next to the fence. PLIP! It sounded soft and muffled, like a little green cushion.
"Did you hear that?" Sophie whispered, although she was alone. Or at least, she thought she was. From a branch of a nearby apple tree, a squirrel with a bushy tail was watching her curiously.
"Click-click!" came a sound from the path, where a drop hit a small, flat pebble.
Sophie's eyes lit up. "Every drop sings differently!" she exclaimed quietly. "The can goes ding, the leaf goes plip, and the stone goes click. It's like... like music!"
Just then, the small gate opened and her friend Mark ran into the yard. He was wearing a yellow raincoat and a hood that stuck out funnily from his head.
"Hi, Sophie! This is so boring, it's raining again," he frowned.
"But it's not boring, Mark! Listen!" said Sophie excitedly. She pointed to the watering can. They waited. DING! She pointed to the leaf. PLIP! And to the stone. CLICK!
Mark tilted his head. "Hey! That's true!" he smiled. "And what sound does a puddle make?"
He immediately tried it out. He stomped in a small puddle that was forming by the path. SPLASH!
"That's another sound!" laughed Sophie. "We have a tin bell, a green drum, a pebble xylophone, and water cymbals!"
The squirrel in the tree chattered in agreement and shook its tail, flicking a few drops off the branch. They landed on the wooden bench. Thump-thump!
"Look! The bench is playing too!" added Mark. "Sophie, what if we made a concert for the whole garden?"
Sophie jumped with excitement. "Yes! A rain concert! But how?"
"We need to arrange the instruments properly," Mark mused. "So that it's not just noise, but a melody."
They got to work right away. First, they started collecting more "instruments." They found an old clay pot shard that made a deep, hollow sound. THUD. They found an empty plastic bottle. PLONK. And a large feather that had fallen from some bird made almost no sound, just a quiet SHHHH as a drop slid down it.
"Okay, we have enough," said Mark. "Let's write it down so we don't forget."
They ran inside and Sophie brought paper and crayons. She drew the watering can and next to it wrote DING in big letters. Then she drew the leaf and wrote PLIP. Soon they had a whole list of picture notes. It was their first musical score.
"Now we have to arrange them," said Sophie, looking at the sad garden. In the flowerbeds, the closed buds of flowers were huddled. The tulips, daffodils, and daisies looked as if they were still sleeping and didn't want to show their colours.
"Maybe our music will wake up the flowers," Sophie whispered.
"Let's try!" Mark agreed. With the help of Nutty the squirrel, who skillfully carried smaller things for them, they began to arrange their instruments around the garden. They placed the tin watering can on the edge of the terrace, where the drops fell on it the most. They put the clay pot shard under a large tree. They lined up the plastic bottle and the pebbles on the low wall.
"We also need rhythm," said Mark. "Look, it's dripping fast here, and slower over there." He pointed to the downspout, from which water flowed in a steady stream, and then to a tree branch, from which drops fell only occasionally.
With the help of their parents, who were watching them with a smile from the window, they stretched a string over the flowerbed. On it, they hung several spoons with clothespins. When the drops hit them, a gentle TINKLE-TINKLE-TINKLE sounded.
Everything was ready. The rain had weakened a little, but then it started to pour again, as if it too had been waiting for the right moment.
And the concert began.
DING! went the watering can. THUD! answered the pot shard. Click-click-click! the pebbles on the wall played a fast rhythm. PLONK! the bottle joined in. TINKLE-TINKLE! the spoons chimed. And amidst it all, the leaves whispered their gentle PLIP and PLOP, and the puddles made a cheerful SPLASH.
It wasn't just noise. It was a strange, cheerful melody. Fast sounds alternated with slow ones, high ones with deep ones. Sophie and Mark stood under the roof, listening and smiling quietly. Nutty the squirrel also sat on a branch, wagging his little tail to the rhythm.
And that's when Sophie noticed it. One of the closed buds of a red tulip trembled. Slowly, as if stretching after a long sleep, it began to open its petals.
"Mark, look!" she whispered, pointing her finger.
Mark saw it too. The red tulip was joined by a yellow daffodil, and then by a small white daisy. The flowers, which until now had been huddled and grey, seemed to hear the cheerful music of the rain. Or maybe...
"They were thirsty!" exclaimed Mark. "The rainwater gives them the strength to bloom!"
"And our music is helping them!" added Sophie.
They were right. The rainwater was waking up the roots and giving the plants the energy to grow and bloom. And the cheerful concert was a celebration of this little miracle of nature. Before their eyes, the sad, green-grey garden began to transform into a colourful paradise. The red, yellow, blue, and white heads of the flowers opened one by one towards the sky, greedily drinking every drop.
When the rain slowly stopped and the sun peeked through the clouds, the whole garden was radiant. It looked happy and fresh.
Sophie and Mark looked at each other. "We did it!" they exclaimed at the same time and hugged.
"We discovered that everything has its own sound," said Mark proudly.
"And that flowers need water to be beautiful and colourful," Sophie added, stroking the petal of the nearest tulip.
Nutty the squirrel jumped down from the tree and, as a thank you, brought them the two most beautiful hazelnuts he could find.
What do you think, children? What sounds could you find in your garden or on your balcony the next time it rains? With your parents' help, you can try to find your own rain instruments and put on your own concert. Maybe your flowers will be happy too.