The Tale of the Little Taxi Afraid of the Rain
A warm bedtime tale about a yellow taxi named Teddy who trembles at the first raindrops, but discovers that driving slowly and breathing calmly makes the road safe. Inside you'll find the read-aloud tale, discussion questions, and three ready-made activities for children aged 4-7.
This tale was written to be read aloud before bed or at nursery school. It takes about 7-8 minutes. It's suited to children who are scared of thunder, of the dark, or simply of anything new - because the main character doesn't beat fear with bravery, but with slow movement, breathing, and a friend's help. After the tale you'll find discussion questions and three activities you can do that very same day.
To read aloud to your child
On a narrow street, between a bakery and a big chestnut tree, lived a little yellow taxi. His name was Teddy. He was the smallest taxi in town - so small that when he drove past the buses, they blew a gust of wind at him and he wobbled.
Teddy loved sunny days. He loved driving Granny Rose to the market and counting her baskets: one with tomatoes, one with peppers, one with bread still warm. He loved driving the twins Daisy and Mickey to nursery school and listening to them argue about who first spotted the blue dog on the corner.
But as soon as the sky turned grey, Teddy began to tremble. His little mirrors shook. His tyres stuck to the pavement.
"I can't," whispered Teddy. "When it rains, the street gets slippery. It gets shiny. I can't see where it ends."
And he stayed in the garage, headlights off, while the other cars splashed through the puddles.
One Thursday afternoon the sky darkened very quickly. The first drops drummed on the roof - drip, drip, drip-drip-drip. Teddy curled up in the corner of the garage.
Then there was a knock at the door. It was Miss Violet, the nursery teacher, holding an umbrella turned inside out by the wind.
"Teddy, please. Daisy and Mickey are waiting outside the nursery. All the other taxis are busy."
Teddy's little engine-heart went pitter-patter-pat, just like the rain.
"I'm scared," he admitted. "I'm really scared."
"I know," said Miss Violet, sitting down on the step beside him. "I was scared of the rain too, when I was little. Want me to show you what I do?"
She placed a hand on his yellow door.
"First. We breathe in while we count to three. One... two... three. Then we breathe out slowly, as if we're blowing on hot soup. Let's do it together."
Teddy breathed in. He breathed out. His little mirrors stopped shaking so hard.
"Second," said Miss Violet. "We don't set off fast. We set off slowly, like a tortoise on wheels. The rain doesn't like fast ones. It likes slow ones."
"And third?" asked Teddy.
"Third: you don't go alone. I'm coming with you."
And so Teddy rolled out of the garage. The first puddle was frightening - splash! Water sprayed all the way up to the windows. Teddy stopped.
"One... two... three," said Miss Violet.
Teddy breathed out and carried on. Slowly. Like a tortoise on wheels.
And then Teddy noticed something. His wipers went: swish-swish, swish-swish - just like a little song. The streetlamps reflected on the wet pavement and made long golden stripes. A big lorry went by on the other side and threw up a wave, and Teddy thought: "I'm a boat. I'm a little yellow boat."
Outside the nursery, Daisy and Mickey were hopping under the awning with their hoods up.
"Teddy's here! Teddy came in the rain!"
They climbed in wet, smelling of damp coats and wet earth. Mickey pressed his palm to the misty window and left a five-fingered print. Daisy counted the drops running down the glass and laughed because they joined together two by two and became one.
After he'd dropped them off, Teddy drove back to the garage. He was wet right up to his roof. And he wasn't trembling any more.
"The fear hasn't gone away completely," he told Miss Violet. "It's still here, a little bit."
"Of course it's still here," she smiled. "But now it's riding in the back seat. And who's driving?"
"Me," said Teddy.
And he switched on his headlights in the grey afternoon.
Discussion questions after the tale
Ask two or three questions, not all of them. Wait for your child to answer, even if the silence is long - children this age often think for 10-15 seconds before speaking.
- What were the three things Miss Violet taught Teddy? (Breathing, driving slowly, having someone beside you.)
- What was Teddy really afraid of - the water itself, or not being able to see the road well?
- What lovely thing did Teddy only notice once he set off in the rain?
- What does it mean that "fear rides in the back seat, and I do the driving"?
- What sometimes scares you? Who helps you then?
Why this tale works for fears
The story deliberately doesn't say "don't be scared," and it doesn't make Teddy fearless by the end. Children aged 4-7 are very sensitive to unfair promises: if we say "there's nothing to be scared of" while they are, in fact, scared, they decide something must be wrong with them. So here the fear stays - it just changes seats.
- Teddy names his fear out loud, and the adult doesn't brush it aside.
- A specific, repeatable action is given: counting to three and breathing out slowly.
- There's a slow, step-by-step way out of the garage, rather than one big leap.
- The child gets words to describe their own feelings with: "my mirrors are shaking."
Activity 1: Teddy's Breathing (2 minutes)
Try it once when things are calm - not for the first time in the middle of tears. Sit facing each other. Say: "We breathe in while we count to three - one, two, three. Now we blow on hot soup - loooong." Repeat three times. Then give your child a feather, a tissue, or a light bit of paper on their palm: with the slow breath out, it should only flutter, not fly away. That's the "slow" breath. Give it a name in your family - "Teddy's breathing" - and use it later during thunder, before a doctor's visit, or at the nursery gate.
Activity 2: A Walk in the Rain with Three Tasks
On the next light rainy day, dress your child in a raincoat and wellies and go out for 10 minutes with three specific tasks, just like in the tale: 1) find a puddle that reflects something (a lamp, a tree, a window); 2) listen for three different rain sounds - on the umbrella, on a metal drain cover, on the leaves; 3) find one spot that stays dry (under an awning, under a big tree, under a balcony). The goal isn't "not being scared" - it's shifting attention from fear to discovery. Head home afterwards, dry off, and have something warm to drink - the end of the adventure matters as much as the start.
Activity 3: Make Your Own Taxi and Rain
Cut a yellow rectangle out of card, glue on two bottle caps for wheels, and draw on headlights. On a separate blue sheet, draw rain with a pencil. Now play: your child drives the taxi across the table while you tap your fingers lightly on the tabletop - that's the rain. When your child says "stop," everyone stops - both the rain and the taxi. Then count to three together and carry on slowly. This way the child is in charge of the rain, not the other way round. Play it two or three times and swap roles.
A few tips for parents
- If your child asks for the tale again and again - read it. Repetition is how new behaviour gets learned at this age.
- Don't skip the part where Teddy says "I'm scared." That's exactly what gives your child permission to say it about themselves too.
- Use the name Teddy as a quick cue: "Let's breathe like Teddy" works better than a long explanation in a moment of panic.
- If the fear is of thunder rather than rain, add one line while reading: and Teddy heard a loud rumble too, but it was only the sound of clouds bumping into each other.
- Praise the specific action, not the character: "You breathed in and counted to three" works better than "You're very brave."
Happy reading - and here's hoping the next rainy day at your house sounds a little more like swish-swish and a little less like something scary.