Atlan turned to Marita. He asked her "Where are the children?" And indeed wherever you looked there were no children in the whole park.

There were great piles of artificial leaves for jumping in. There were bouncing balls of every size and every color. There were tetter-totters to totter-tetter on. And there were flutter bye byes to chase. But wherever you looked and wherever you walked there were no children.

Atlan and his love Marita ran through the park through the artificial snow. Hand in hand they ran. They slowed to cross the stream on a log. "I love you" sang Atlan, but Marita replied "Where are the children?"

They walked through the fields of daisies and marigolds and violets and other flowers. And they looked behind each tree that from time to time towered above the flowers. Atlan swang into one of the trees and climbed almost to the top. He put his hand above his eyes to shield them from the sun and looked out over the plains. "But where are the children?" he puzzled.

Atlan and Marita. Marita and Atlan. They walked through the fields of corn next to the park, hidden from others by the great rows of corn stalks. But nowhere could they find any children. They returned to the park and there they saw many adults but no children.

Finally it began to drizzle. For a while they wandered through the drizzle loving the cold drops against their skin. Then they decide to run inside the shelter to be free from the rain.

And there were the children!!! "Why were you all playing inside?" asked Marita. "It is raining" replied Annie. "But it wasn't raining before, was it? inquired Atlan. "No" said Artie, "but it was going to be."

Atlan and Marita smiled at each other and hugged each other and the children. Then, Marita whispered in Atlan's ear "I don't know why either. But who cares? We are with them now. They are children. And I love them."

They all played many games inside during the rain and everyone went home for a warm bowl of soup when the rain stopped.

THE END