The Three Umbrellas

         Once upon a shelf, high up in the front hall closet, lived three umbrellas—a red one named Gertie, a beautiful royal blue umbrella called Francine and a pink and yellow flowered umbrella known as Tess.

         They were very sociable umbrellas, and dearly loved to go out into the world with their owners, meet other people and peer into shop windows to see displays of everything from delicious-looking cakes and candies to the latest styles in clothes and jewelry to interesting-looking books. Sadly, though, the only time they got to go anywhere was when it was raining, or when the weatherman on T.V. said it would rain that day.

         It was most unusual, but on that special day, they could see out of their closet to the white front door of the big red brick house.

         “Look,” said Gertie.” Her red fringe shook with excitement. “They left the closet door open!”

         “And it’s not raining,” Tess said. From her perch she could see through the window next to the front door. She turned to Francine and said, “We’ve got to go out!”

         “By ourselves?” Francine was a prim and proper umbrella. Her blue fabric rustled in the partial darkness. “I have never heard of such a thing! What if our owners find us missing?”

         “They won’t,” Gertie replied with certainty. “The day looks bright and sunny outside. They’ll never notice we’re gone. Besides they’re busy.”

         “Well, I’m going. Who’s coming too?” Tess began to roll herself toward the edge of the shelf. Gertie already rolled off her shelf and onto the closet floor. Tess landed on the floor next.

         “Come on, Francine! “ cried Gertie.

         “You’ll love it out here! Oh, please come with us,” said Tess. Her big pink and yellow flowers seemed to jump up and down with excitement.

         “Well, I… I… I don’t know,” Francine faltered. Though she never told anyone, she was afraid of heights.  It seemed such a long way down. Squeezing her eyes shut, she gathered all her courage and rolled off her shelf. But instead of landing on the floor as the others did, she landed inside a big boot. It took both of her friends to help her out of the boot and onto the floor.

         They slipped through the front door of the house, and disappeared down the sidewalk.

         “Oh, look!” Gertie walked over to the neighbor’s flower bed, for umbrellas could walk if no humans were looking. “Aren’t they beautiful? I’ve never seen anything like this!” She gazed at the spectacular flowers in wonder. “They’re so alive and happy-looking!” Tess and Francine walked over and watched the profusion of roses, dahlias, four-o-clocks and daisies as they bobbed and nodded to them in the breeze.

         “Let’s get going,” said Francine. “There’s a lot more things to see.”

         Since they usually went out only in the pouring rain, the three umbrellas had never before seen so many people in the streets and enjoying the park. They sat in the cool shade of a big oak tree, watching all the children playing on the swings and climbing on a wooden structure with walkways, ladders and a slide. Their mothers and fathers chatted with other parents, as other people rode quickly by on their bicycles.

         “What’s that wonderful smell?” Tess felt her stomach rumbling.

         “It smells like food,” said Gertie, feeling a bit hungry herself.

         “This way,” Francine led her two friends around the corner, where they found a restaurant with outdoor tables, each with a giant green and white umbrella shading it. They sat down, each feeling a little odd to be using another umbrella for protection from the hot sun.

         “Have you been here long?” Tess asked the big green and white umbrella.

         “Shhh! I’m not supposed to talk,” said the big umbrella.

         Just then, a waiter came up to the table, pad in hand, and asked what they would like to eat.

         “I’ll have the pork ribs and coleslaw,” said Gertie, her red lips moist at the mere thought.

         “I’d like the spaghetti,” said Tess, “with garlic bread and a salad.”

         Francine had been watching her waistline, which had lately been bulging a little too much under the royal blue fabric. “I’ll have the shrimp salad,” she said with a sigh. “No dressing.”

         “I’ve been here a very long time,” the green and white umbrella finally answered when the waiter left with their orders.

         “Wow,” you’re lucky, said Tess. “You get to be out in the sun every day.”

         “It gets very hot you know,” replied the big umbrella. Neither Tess nor Francine nor Gertie know how to answer that. They fell silent until the waiter returned with their food.

         “That was delicious!” Tess wiped a bit of spaghetti sauce from her pink lips. There was a blob of it right on one of her yellow flowers, too. This she smeared with a napkin in an attempt to remove it.

         Before anyone could say anything else, a drop of rain landed on the big green and white umbrella. Then another fell…then yet another. Francine looked out from under cover to see the darkening sky.

         “We’d better get right home,” she said. “It looks like it’s going to rain hard.”

         “Oooo, I hope they don’t look for us until after we get home,” said Gertie. She had a sense of duty toward her owners. “We don’t want them to find us all gone!”

         They quickly paid their bill and scurried out onto the street. They ran as fast as they could, into their yard, through the front door of the house and up into the closet. Francine had a little trouble getting herself back on the shelf, but with the help of her two friends, finally managed it, just as they heard footsteps approach the closet.

         After that, they often amused themselves during long days in the closet by telling and retelling the stories from that wondrous day when they ventured out into the sun.