Badli and Windy

by Pushpa Moorjani



"Whoosh! Swoosh! Oh what fun! I love you, Windy! Do you love me? Show!" said Badli, a young cumulus cloud, as she waved a tail of her fluffy white body against the blowing wind.

Badli loved the mischievous but gentle wind. She gave a deep belly laugh each time Windy blew furiously against Badli's soft face. Then Windy would take Badli on a piggy-ride, and swing her left and right, up and down, and in all the directions of the sky.



From morning till night, Windy and Badli played together, high up in the sky, above the rivers, and the mountains and the gardens and the flowers. Together, they watched the birds sing and the trees dance. They loved to watch the waters glide gracefully through the narrow valleys between the hills and slide down the rocks on the pebbles, following the rivers to meet the blue sea.

They gurgled and smiled at the stars and the moon. During daytime, they played hide and seek and hid behind the rainbow. They were the best of friends and they were very, very happy in each other's company.

One wet day, Windy asked Badli to follow her and meet some of their other friends. But Badli was getting very tired. She could not keep pace with Windy. She had put on lots of weight and she was finding it very, very difficult to run as fast as Windy could.

"Wait for me, Windy!" She said, "Please wait for me, slow down, I cannot run as fast as you can."

Windy slowed down to look at her friend.

"Can you take me on your back? I want a piggy-ride. Please." Said Badli

Windy tried to help her but she could hardly lift her. Badli was too heavy to go far on a piggy-ride with Windy. Her friend could not take her for a long distance, so they decided to play in a smaller area of the sky.

"Whoosh! Swoosh! Oh what fun! I love you, Windy! Do you love me? Show!" said Badli

"Whoosh! Swoosh! Oh what fun! I love you, Badli! Do you love me? Show!" said Windy

And they both laughed together, loudly, very loudly, jumping up and down, swinging from left to right, clapping, and somersaulting round and round, up and down, left and right, and in all the direction in the sky.

Suddenly, Badli knocked against a big mountain.

SSSSSSSSSSSSplash!

Badli broke her head.

"Oooh! Blup! Blup! Blup! Blup!" Said Badli, and water started dripping onto the mountain.

"Whoosh! Swoosh! Badli! Badli!" shouted Windy.

But Badli did not reply.

Windy turned towards the mountain. She watched the little cloud melt away. Water slid down rocks onto the pebbles in small streams, flowed gracefully through the narrow valleys and into the rivers, to meet the great blue sea.

Windy walked slowly down to the sea and blew against the waves of the sea and went…..

Whoosh!

Swoosh!

Oh what fun!

Do you hear me Badli?

Do you love me?

Show!

A small white arm waved at her from the sea and flipped a handful of spray into the air. Windy caught it and blew it higher. She could still play with her friend!

And she gently blew over the sea, teasing the waves.