The Rainbow

High above our world, in the land of the clouds, there are two kingdoms: the land of Rain and the land of Sun. Both kingdoms are reigned by mighty kings. The king of Rain built his castle on a dark raincloud, while the castle of the Sunking was built on a lofty cloud with a golden brim. Unfortunately, the two kings battled for the weather sometimes. Luckily, they decided on a system: one day sunshine, one day rain. This system went all right for a while, but the king of Rain was old and scatterbrained. This very day, he forgot what day it was. “Call for Drop, the first Rainmaker.” When Drop arrived, the king said “’Tis a wonderful day for a shower, isn’t it?” Drop frowned. “Majesty, I apologise for being so bold as to say rain is not scheduled for today.” The king got up from his throne swiftly “What are you saying? When I ask for rain, then yes, it shall rain!”

Meanwhile, the king of Sun was looking out his window, when he realised that the Rainking did not follow the rules. Angrily he shouted “But it’s called for sunshine today. What is the king of Rain thinking? Everybody, light the torches more brightly!” The king of Rain was looking out the window and realised, that the golden cloud was shining more brightly than just a moment ago. This made him shake with rage. “What is the old fool thinking?”

"Drop, call for Lightning and Thunder. Let the mightiest of rainstorms gather. We need to extinguish the torches.” Drop tried to disagree, but the king of Rain ordered for everyone to man their battle-stations. People all over the world raised their heads to look at the sky and wonder at the quick changes of weather: torrents of rain intertwined with spells of sunshine.

The war raged on for a while, until Drop called for help. “Nordwind, come to our aid.” Nordwind arrived at the castle of Sun and blew out all torches. Then he flew to the castle of Rain and blew at the tower of water to freeze it. The people on earth were baffled, because suddenly, there was no weather at all!

Meanwhile, the king of Sun was sitting on his throne, dwelling on whether or not he had been too quick to act, when there was a knock on the door. The door opened and in walked the Rainking. He had come to apologise. “Come in, my dear friend”, said the king of Sun. “I’ve been a fool,” said the king of Rain, “I did act too hastily. Forgive me, my old friend.” The wind of the Nord saw that they were shaking hands. “I will call for my brother, Southwind, to unfreeze you.” When Southwind melted the raintower, the king of Sun relit his torches and together, the citizens of the kingdom of Sun and the kingdom of Rain, painted a beautiful rainbow across the sky to show heaven and earth that the war was over and once again, peace reigned the kingdoms of weather.

- adapted from the German fairy-tale "Der Regenkönig"