Nora and the Little Bell

Nora lived above a busy bakery. Every morning, the smell of warm bread curled up the stairs to her window. On the shelf beside her bed sat a tiny brass bell. It had no clapper, so it had never rung.

One rainy morning, Nora saw a silver drop roll across her windowsill. Above the chimney, a gray cloud was stuck fast. Little drops slipped from its bottom.

“Please help,” puffed the cloud. “My rain is falling away, and I cannot hear where it lands.”

Nora carried her little bell outside. She held it under the cloud’s dripping edge. Plink! A raindrop fell into the bell. Ding! The bell made a soft, bright sound.

Nora smiled. “You need a sound to follow.”

She set the bell on the chimney. Plink, ding. Plink, ding. The cloud listened. Then it let out a small shower over the dry flower boxes below.

But a gust of wind whooshed along the roof. The bell bounced down the tiles and rolled into the bakery yard.

Nora hurried downstairs. Her bell had stopped beside a tray of round bread rolls. A sleepy orange cat lay curled beside it.

“May I have my bell, please?” Nora asked.

The cat opened one eye. Then it tapped the bell with its paw. Ding! Above them, the cloud gave a pleased rumble.

Nora picked up the bell and hurried back up the stairs. The cat followed close behind. Together, they set the bell in a bowl on the chimney, safe above the puddles.

Plink, ding. Plink, ding. The cloud made a gentle rain across the rooftops. It watered the flower boxes, washed dusty leaves, and filled a little bowl for the cat.

Soon the sky turned blue. The cloud floated free from the chimney. “Thank you!” it called.

Nora put the little bell back on her shelf. It was quiet again. But whenever rain tapped her window, Nora listened for a tiny, friendly ding.