It was a day when the sky was so blue it hurt your eyes to look at it. Clouds were billowing and looked soft enough to float on, with faint traces of light yellow among the edges, they were piled layer on layer, reaching, it seemed, to eternity. The breeze that had been so warm and calm all day, now shifted to the north, increasing in speed to make the sheet on the clothes line snap like a whip and brought a chill by it's quick change of temperature. Birds rushed to find safe shelter except for the barn swallows which reveled in the wind with their acrobatic antics. Brother Harry and I, leaning to fight the increasing wind, moved up the hill to the north pasture to bring the Old Black Cow and Mutzy into the safety of the barn. In the distance we could see the lightning flashing in the rolling clouds that were racing towards us, as though they were trying to catch the ones ahead and instead seeming to fall over each other. Black and angry, pushing each other, they seemed intent on catching us before we could make it to safety. Pieces of weeds and grass flew by, an old rusty tin coffee can with the twist stem still attached came rolling and bumping across the field. Struggling to get the gate open we reached for the cows but they were already past us and headed for the barn, leaving us to run and try and catch up, falling and getting up, then falling again. The wind howled with a wail and whistled through every minute cavity, making sounds like the many instruments of a symphony, albeit eerie enough to make the hair on our necks stand up. The clouds were closer now and the booming thunder shook the ground. What earlier had been bright scene of flowers, green grass and trees, now were the shadows of ghouls the thunder gave voice to. Dust clouded our vision and throats as we ran towards the barn, faster than we ever thought possible. We made the turn around the corner and through the wide door into the dark interior where we had to stop to let our eyes adjust to the dark. As things began to take shape we could see the cows in their respective stalls, still tense as animals always are right before a storm. The first big crack of thunder started with a small sound and then increased until it filled the earth with it's sharp snap, causing the barn to shudder as though frightened. It came in waves, one seeming to try to outdo the other, snapping and crackling, booming and rattling. We stood frozen, unsure of what to do, as the storm rolled over us, whipping any thing not tied down in the air, slamming it against the side of the barn. Then came the hail beating the tin roof with a sound so loud you couldn't talk, making what looked like miniature snowballs on the ground. Out the window we could barely see the lighted kerosene lamp in the kitchen, a comfort in the display that nature was now unleashing. It appeared and disappeared, a flashing light in the rain whipped by wind and we kept our eyes on it for it was our line of security. We were both shaking, though I'm not sure if it was because we were cold or frightened. Slowly the rain started easing up until it was a pattering on the tin roof and the wind had quieted to a small breeze. We opened the door and stepped through at the same time that the other kids came out the back door. I could see mom looking to make sure we were alright before going back into the house to start supper. Evie, Ann, and Louie were running out to us in the hail which had already started melting, every so often picking one up to throw. In the distance the lightning and thunder was fading as the storm moved further south and to the north, looking past the tailing end of the clouds, the sun was shining again. The birds began their singing again. some bathing in the pools of rain. As the clouds passed by and the sun again touched our faces, we were laughing, throwing hail against the barn, enjoying the freedom of summer. I looked again at what remained of the storm and had my first insight into the reality that the world has an anger of it's own