“It’s raining Mom…YEA!!! Can I go out with my new boots and raincoat?”
“Well…Ok I guess Billy but if it starts to thunder you come right back in!”
“All right Mom.” Billy quickly pulled on his rubber boots and black toggled yellow “slicker” as his Grandmom called it when she gave it to him for his eighth birthday.
“And don’t go past the end of the block Billy…and don’t go into the street…and….”
“I KNOW I know Mom….I’ll be VERY careful”
“Well Ok.” Billy’s Mom patted Billy on the top of his hood as he ran out of the door and jumped straight into the puddle of rainwater that had formed in front of their door.
Billy was having so much fun jumping from puddle to puddle and making a splash higher and higher as the puddles got deeper. Then on the fifth puddle Billy’s boots kept going down, down, down sinking straight into the puddle that was so deep that he couldn’t touch the bottom.
As Billy’s head went under the water’s surface he yelled “MOM!!!!” but then instantly was totally submerged looking up to the light at the top of the deepest puddle that ever was.
Billy kept sinking and holding his breath until finally his boots hit bottom.
Billy was very mature for an eight year old but had to admit that he was more scared than he had EVER been in his whole life. Then he noticed a strange thing. He could breathe…WAS breathing even though he was deep under water. And it was very bright down there not dark like you might think that it would be and as he was looking around at the sides of the “puddle” a long thick squiggly “thing” swam by. “Hey Billy…nice slicker!”
“What….how….did you know my name….and…..what ARE you anyhow?”
“I’m what’s called a puddle jumper…my kind live in rain puddles. You can call me “PJ”
“But what about when the puddle dries up after the rain stops? Where do you go then?” asked Billy.
“We wait in the ground until another one comes along.” explained the puddle jumper.
“So….that means you love puddles just as much as I do!”
“Yep…maybe even more!”
But suddenly Billy looked very sad and “PJ” said “What’s the matter Billy aren’t you having fun in this greatest of all puddles?”
“Well…yeah…kinda but how do I get out….go home? I kinda like jumping “through” puddles not deep “into” them?”
“Oh I see….yeah this is home to me but for you it’s like a trap isn’t it?”
“Uh huh…I wanna go home…ah….my MOM will be worried.” Billy said with a sad tone in his voice.
Then suddenly there shone a very bright light from above and both Billy and PJ looked up.
“Ah….that’d be the sun. Rain’s over….this puddle is gonna be drying up soon… gotta make my way home.” Said Pj quickly squiggling around and starting to swim away.
“WAIT….what about me….I wanna go home now….help me PLEASE PJ.”
OH…yes….quite….well…stand stiff and still and I will vault you up to the surface. Ever been vaulted?”
“Ah….no I don’t think so PJ.”
The puddle jumper wriggled itself under Billy’s new boots and on the count of three suddenly arched up against the soles of Billy’s boots, shooting Billy quickly up to the top of the puddle and out through the surface, landing on his walkway dripping wet.
As he tried to squeegee the excess water off of his raincoat his Mother was standing at the doorway with her arms folded in front of her and looking very angry. Then his Mom threw him a towel…”Wipe that water off before you come inside the house.”
As Billy dried himself off his Mom turned and went back into the house. And as she did Billy thought he heard her mumble “Those pesky puddle jumpers!”