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Rina's Rainy Day Plan

Ages 6-9 | Story and 9 activities

It has been raining for three days, and Rina has run out of ideas.

She has read her library books twice. She has drawn six pictures. She has built a tower out of blocks, knocked it down, and built it again. Now she stands at the window with her nose against the glass, watching raindrops race each other down the pane.

"I'm bored," she says.

"Hmm," says Mommy, folding laundry.

"I'm so bored. There's nothing to do. I've done everything."

"Have you?" asks Mommy. "What about the box in the hall closet?"

Rina trudges to the closet. On the bottom shelf sits a big cardboard box, the one the new washing machine came in. It is tall and wide, big enough for a kid to climb into.

"What do I do with a box?"

"That's a good question," says Mommy. "What could a box be?"

Rina frowns. It is a box. That's what it is. But Mommy gives her a look that says, think a little harder.

She climbs inside and sits down. The walls curve around her. It is dim and cozy, like a cave.

"It's a cave," she says.

"Interesting," says Mommy from the other room.

Rina flips the box onto its side so the opening faces out. A cave needs light. She finds a flashlight and a pile of pillows. She hangs a blanket across the front like a curtain.

"Now it's a bear cave," she says. "And I'm a bear who's hibernating."

She growls. It is a small growl, but it echoes.

Her little brother Yossi wanders in, rubbing his eyes from a nap. "What's that?"

"A bear cave. Do you want to come in?"

Yossi crawls inside. "I'm a baby bear," he says.

"Then I'm the mama bear. And we need food." She looks around. "Berries."

She finds a bowl of grapes in the kitchen. They creep back into the cave and eat in the dim light. Yossi giggles so much that he gets hiccups.

After a while, Rina has a new idea. She takes out a marker and draws a window on the side of the box. Then a door. Then a little mailbox.

"Now it's a house," she says. "We live in the forest. Our neighbor is a squirrel, and she's very nosy."

"What's her name?" asks Yossi.

"Mrs. Acorn."

They play all afternoon. They make a stove out of a smaller box. They make a bed from a towel. Mommy peeks in, and Rina invites her to tea. Mommy sits on the floor with her knees bent and drinks invisible tea from a paper cup.

"Delicious," says Mommy.

"It's acorn tea," says Yossi.

When Totty comes home, he stands in the hallway and stares. "What's all this?"

"It's our house," says Rina. "Come in. But duck."

Totty ducks, and squeezes in, and his head bumps the ceiling. Everyone bursts out laughing.

The next morning, the rain is still falling. But Rina wakes up with a plan.

"Today, I'm going to turn the box into a bakery," she announces.

"A bakery?" says Mommy. "I like that."

By noon, the bakery has a sign (Rina's Bakery, Open Today), a counter made from a stool, and a menu with six kinds of pretend cookies. The first customer is Yossi. The second is Mommy. The third is a stuffed bear, who orders two.

When the sun finally comes out on the fourth day, Rina looks outside. The puddles shine. She grabs her boots and runs for the door. Then she pauses and looks back at the bakery.

"Don't go anywhere," she tells it. "I'll be right back."