A small boy opened the door of his house and went outside. His mother chased behind him and forced him into a yellow slicker and rubber boots. She knelt down in front of him and, looking straight into his eyes, warned, "Be careful, okay? No accidents." The little boy nodded, his dark blond hair flopping into his large blue eyes. Although he could not yet talk, his face was very serious for one so small. Then he wriggled away. His mother smiled, ruffled his hair, and went back inside, closing the door behind her. A few seconds later, her face appeared in the front window watching the boy.
The boy ran into the heavy rain, laughing delightedly and trying to catch fat drops on his small pink tongue. He leaped through the puddles, squealing when wet droplets of mud splashed up onto him. His rain slicker was muddy by now, and he was soaked. The boy looked into the gutter and saw a strong current of water flowing down it. Clapping his small, pudgy hands with joy, and began to put small sticks in the water, running after them for a little bit, then pattering back to his driveway and repeating the process. Still it rained harder.
The mother smiled and went into the kitchen to prepare some hot cocoa for the child. She was going to call him in when it was ready so he wouldn't catch cold. She hummed quietly to herself as she boiled the water. By now, the trickle in the gutter had become a raging river. The boy still continued to play his little game with the sticks,gurgling happily as they swirled along. The mother opened the door, stuck her head out, and yelled, " Come in, now! I've got some nice warm hot chocolate by the fire all ready for you!" The boy, who had been placing another twig in the torrent, looked up. In that instant, he slipped and lost his footing. He fell into the raging current of muddy brown water, screaming, and was swept away. Being only three years old, he could not yet swim. His tiny wet head appeared above the water as he cried out the only word he knew. "Mommy!" He was swept under again. The hysterical mother ran to the curb, screaming her head off. "Come back, baby! Come back!" She ran along the sidewalk, searching desperately for a sign of her sweet little boy. But there was no sign of her son. He was already gone.