ong since you were here we thought you had forgotten
us."

"Oh no, we didn't forget you!" replied the Rain Elves, "but it has been
so hot our mothers would not let us come out. We can stay but a little
while, because we have many, many millions of brothers that want to
come down to the garden, too; so we will have to go back, and the next
shower will bring some of the others."

The little flowers were grieved when they heard this, for they were so
dusty and thirsty they felt they could never get enough of the shining
little Elves.

"What shall we do to keep them here?" they whispered among themselves.
"If they go back to the clouds, perhaps the others will not come. Oh,
if the old Wind Witch would only come along she might help us."

"She might get us all into trouble also," said a slender lily. "I
think we better trust the Rain Cloud mothers to do what they think
best."

But poor little lily's words were not noticed and a tall hollyhock was
asked to find old Wind Witch and request her to help them keep the Rain
Elves all day.

The old Wind Witch laughed with glee when she heard the request, for
she saw a chance to work mischief and make it appear she was trying to
do good.

"Tell the pretty flowers they shall have the Rain Elves all day, and
their brothers, too," she said to the hollyhock, and off she flew up to
the Rain Cloud homes.

She went about the clouds very carefully and gently, for she knew if
the Rain Cloud mothers heard her they would call their children home;
but by and by she saw her chance, and while the Rain Cloud mothers were
busy she softly opened the door of each cloud one by one and beckoned
to the Rain Elves.

"Run along quickly," she said. "Your brothers are having such a fine
time they have quite forgotten you; they will not be back today, so run
along and be merry with them."

The little Rain Elves did not stop to think they should wait for their
mothers to tell them when to go, they were so eager to get out.

Down they went quite gently at first with a patter, patter, pat, and
then they quite lost their heads, thinking of the fun they would have,
and down they dropped, splash, splash, splash.

At first the flowers laughed and danced about for joy, for they were
getting their leaves and blossoms washed and their thirsty petals
satisfied; but in a little while the Rain Elves came so fast and thick
the petals dropped off one by one, and then the stems bent under the
swift comin