On some days a long ago, when the weather was warm and the wind was slow, clouds in the sky would get so thick and fluffy, that people could go up there and play on them! Back in those days, all the clouds looked the same. They were long and flat, but soft too. 

On one day, when the clouds were as thick as pillows, a little boy named Danny found his way up onto a big cloud. 

No one else was up there, and there was so much room. He ran all around the cloud, bouncing and playing, and pulling off big wet clumps of cloud to throw into the air. 

Danny was always a bit of a trouble maker, and hadn't told his mother that he was going up to play. He had only meant to stay up for a few minutes, but after awhile of playtime, he got tired and decided to take a little rest. 

One thing his mother had always told him was, "Don't fall asleep on those clouds Danny. A wind could come up and carry you away!" 

But he told himself, "It's okay! I'll just sit here for a minute, then go home." 

He dug himself a little hole in the cloud and burrowed into it. It was soft and cozy in there, warm because of the sun. Before he knew it, his eyelids were drooping, and he was asleep.

While Danny napped on his private cloud, the wind grew. The sun still shone, keeping him warm and asleep, but the wind carried his cloud away from home! 

Over farms and forests and lakes and oceans he went. 

Finally, as the sun started to set, Danny opened his eyes and yawned happily. It was the best nap  he'd ever had!

He got up and stretched, then saw how low the sun was. 

"Oh no! I'd better get home," he said, bouncing over to the edge of his cloud. But his house was gone! 

"Oh no, oh no, oh no!" He cried, racing over to the other side. Nothing looked familiar. There were big fields of yellow grass, and a couple little ponds, but no people. 

Usually, he'd just pull off a big clump of cloud and float down, but he had nowhere to go! 

He sat down on his cloud and cried. He missed his house and his brothers. He missed his big brown dog Marley. 

Danny cried so lously, that a bit of wind heard him. This little gust had helped push the cloud away, but he'd had no idea that a little boy was on it. 

"Are you okay?" the bit of wind called in a soft voice, floating down to him. Danny raised his head, eyes wet and red. He sniffed loudly, and  said, "I don't know how to get home."

The little wind gust said sadly, "My friends helped me push you over here, but we didn't know anyone was on the cloud!" 

Raising his head, hopefully, Danny asked, "Can you push me home again?" 

The wind swirled slowly and replied, "No. All my friends have left now, and I'm not strong enough to bring this whole cloud back. It'd be like a bee trying to move a horse."

Danny wiped his face, and started picking at the cloud. And then he had an idea. 

"Hey! Could you push me on a little cloud?" 

The little gust spiraled thoughtfully. "Possibly. How big of a cloud?" 

Danny started pulling up bits of cloud and forming them into a box shape. It was big enough that he could fit into it, but also small enough that the wind could push it. 

He climbed in and said, "Okay, let's go!" 

The little wind started pushing. The little cloud box moved forward fast, back toward Danny's home. He put his hands up happily, laughing at the speed at which they moved. 

"Oooh! Let's go through those clouds up there!" he yelled, pointing up at a patch of clouds ahead. The wind pushed him up through them. The two of them started swirling around, and Danny stretched out his hands to touch the clouds. He started making them into shapes. A carrot, a bunny, a swingset. 

The wind thought it was so great, that they stayed at it all night. Finally, Danny fell asleep, so tired from playing. 

The wind pushed him back home quietly, leaving behind a patch of clouds that now looked new and better. 

They got back to his house, and the wind carefully put Danny back into his bed, trying not to make any sound. Once he was safe in bed, the little wind gust left the house. He felt sad that he had to leave danny behind though, and wanted to leave him something. 

Then he had an idea. Spinning with excitement, the little breeze whooshed away. 

In the morning, Danny woke up in his own bed. "Was it all a dream?" he wondered, getting out of bed and looking outside. 

And the he saw somethng amazing! All the clouds he had played in yesterday, making them into shapes and animals, were floating above his house! 

And up there with the, swirling happily, was none other than his little wind friend.

Laughing, Danny ran outside. There, he found a little cloud box, like the one he had made yesterday, waiting for him!

"Come on Danny! Let's go play!" the wind called, swooping down to meet him. Danny jumped in the box, and the two friends flew off together, making more and more clouds new and different. 

And they still do it today.