Clara the Droplet rode on the back of the darkness. All around her was only firm, silent rock. She wasn't afraid. She knew her purpose was to travel. Slowly, she moved through a narrow rock crevice, thinner than a hair. She felt its walls brushing against her. "Good day, Mrs. Rock," she whispered cheerfully.
The Rock didn't answer with words, but Clara felt its ancient wisdom. As she slid lower and lower, she noticed the rock didn't want to let her go just like that. "Wait, Clara," the rock seemed to whisper. "Take a small gift with you. A tiny little spark for good luck."
And sure enough. From the edge of the crevice, a tiny, almost invisible piece of limestone broke free and clung to Clara. It was her little treasure. The droplet held her breath with joy. Now she wasn't just an ordinary droplet, but also a messenger carrying an important delivery. Her journey suddenly seemed much more important. She pushed through the darkness for a moment longer and then...
Plink!
Clara fell into an enormous, silent space. The air smelled of damp earth and cold. She was in a cave. All she could hear was the echo of her own fall and the quiet dripping of her sisters from far away. Drip-drap. Drip-drap. It sounded like a slow, lulling song.
When she landed on the stone floor, her little treasure, that tiny spark of limestone, slipped off her and came to rest on the ground. Clara spread out into a small puddle and looked at what she had left behind. It was just a tiny, white dot. Almost invisible dust.
"Is that all?" she sighed. "Such a long journey for something so small?" She felt a little disappointed. She had expected her gift to shine, or at least make a lovely sound.
"Don't be sad, little one," a thin voice called from above.
Clara looked around in surprise. Hanging upside down from the cave ceiling was Frankie the bat, smiling at her. He had funny wrinkled ears and bright little eyes.
"You're Frankie, aren't you? The Guardian of the Silence," Clara said. She had heard about him from the older droplets.
"That's right," Frankie nodded. "And I saw your gift. It's beautiful."
"But it's so tiny! No one will even notice it," Clara objected.
"They won't notice it by itself," the bat agreed. "But what do you think will happen when the next droplet comes after you? And then another? And another? And a million droplets like them?"
Clara thought for a moment. "Will each one bring the same little treasure?"
"Exactly!" Frankie exclaimed enthusiastically. "And each will place it in the very same spot. One tiny spark on top of another. And then another. And another one. And a thousand more!"
Clara imagined a huge mountain of droplets, waiting in line to deliver their small gift. Suddenly, her work didn't seem so meaningless.
"But... that will take a very long time, won't it?" she asked uncertainly.
"Oh, yes," Frankie laughed. "A very, very long time. Longer than it takes for the tallest tree in the forest to grow. Longer even than a hundred winters and a hundred summers. But we cave-dwellers have plenty of time. Patience is our best friend. Look up."
Clara raised her watery gaze to the ceiling. From the spot where Frankie was hanging, a long, stone icicle was growing downwards. It wasn't made of ice, but of solid stone, and at its tip, another droplet glistened, ready to fall.
"That's my older brother, the stalactite," Frankie explained. "Every droplet that trickles down it adds a tiny layer of limestone. It grows slowly, a millimeter every hundred years, but it grows. And down there, right below it, its stone friend is growing."
Clara looked at the ground. Growing up from the floor towards the icicle was another stone pillar. "That one looks like a candle without a flame!"
"That's a stalagmite. It grows from the gifts you bring, just like the one you brought. One day, many, many years from now, they will meet and join. They will form one magnificent stone column," the bat dreamed. "And the whole cave will be filled with such sculptures. There will be stone curtains, organs, palm trees... all thanks to you, the patient droplets."
Clara looked at her little white dot on the ground with a new sense of pride. It wasn't just dust. It was the first stone of a future masterpiece. It was the first brick of a future column that might one day connect the floor and the ceiling of the cave.
Suddenly, she no longer felt small and insignificant. She felt like a part of something huge and wonderful. She knew her journey had a purpose. Slowly, she soaked into the ground, to evaporate back to the clouds and begin her journey all over again.
"Thank you, Frankie!" she managed to whisper.
"Thank you, Clara! And say hello to the other droplets!" the bat called after her. Then he sank back into the silence and listened. Drip-drap. Drip-drap. The symphony of patience played on, and in the darkness, beauty was slowly growing.
What do you think, children, how long would it take to build a tower of sand if you only added one grain each day? Perhaps you could try it another way. With the help of your mom or dad, dissolve a lot of salt or sugar in a glass of warm water until no more can be dissolved. Then, dip a piece of string into the glass and leave it there for a few days. You will see little crystals begin to grow on it, just like the formations in a cave! Each crystal is a little treasure that the water left there for you.