Calamity Kate and the Whistling Winds

Calamity Kate and the Whistling Winds

by

Patches the Story Dog

Patches the Story Dog

A story about Hurricanes

for your Kindergartener

Kindergartener Hurricanes Classic Characters

Make this story your own!

Remix Story
Calamity Kate, a spunky cowgirl in boots and a wide-brimmed tan cowboy hat, stands smiling with her hands on her hips in front of a cozy red barn with white trim, golden fields stretching behind her. In the background, a wide open blue sky stretches over golden coastal fields meeting the warm blue sea.

Calamity Kate lived on a sunny ranch where golden fields met the warm blue sea. She wore her favorite boots every day and took care of all the horses in her friendly red barn. "Good morning, everyone!" Kate called. The horses neighed and swished their tails. The sky was big and blue, and the salty breeze felt warm on her face.

Calamity Kate, a spunky cowgirl in boots and a wide-brimmed tan cowboy hat, gently brushes a chestnut horse inside a cozy red barn with white trim, hay scattered on the wooden floor. In the background, through the open barn door, thick gray clouds gather at the horizon over the warm blue sea.

Kate brushed the horses one by one. She gave them fresh water and sweet hay. "You are all so brave and strong," she told them. But something felt different today. The wind was blowing harder than usual, and the clouds at the edge of the sky looked thick and gray.

A wise old brown pelican with a bright orange beak and tufts of white feathers on his head perches on a weathered wooden fence post, his wings slightly spread as he looks out toward the choppy sea. In the background, large choppy waves roll under a sky filling with swirling gray clouds.

Kate walked to the beach to look at the sky. The waves were getting bigger and choppier. Then she heard a loud, scratchy voice. "Storm's a-comin', little cowgirl!" An old brown pelican with a bright orange beak landed on a wooden fence post. "Name's Captain Gus," he said. "And that is no little storm."

Calamity Kate, a spunky cowgirl in boots and a wide-brimmed tan cowboy hat, kneels on the sandy beach looking up with wide eyes at a wise old brown pelican with a bright orange beak and tufts of white feathers on his head, perched on a weathered wooden fence post. In the background, the warm blue sea stretches to the horizon under darkening gray skies.

"What kind of storm?" Kate asked. Captain Gus ruffled his feathers. "A hurricane," he said. "See how warm this ocean water is? When the sea gets very warm, it heats the air above it. That warm, wet air rises up, up, up into the sky. And it starts to spin." Kate's eyes grew wide. "The warm water makes it spin?"

A massive swirling gray cloud formation shaped like a giant pinwheel spirals over the warm blue sea, with a calm bright circle visible in the very center—the eye of the hurricane. In the background, dark ocean waves churn beneath the enormous spinning storm.

"That's right!" said Captain Gus. "More and more warm air rises from the water. It makes big clouds that swirl around and around, like a giant pinwheel. The middle of the storm is called the eye. It is calm and quiet in the eye, but all around it, the winds blow very, very fast. That is a hurricane!"

Calamity Kate, a spunky cowgirl in boots and a wide-brimmed tan cowboy hat, stands tall with a determined look on her face, one hand on her hat as the wind blows the golden field grass sideways around her. In the background, swirling gray clouds roll closer over the cozy red barn with white trim.

Kate looked at the swirling gray clouds moving closer. "What do we do, Captain Gus?" she asked. The old pelican puffed up his chest. "Being brave does not mean standing in the storm," he said. "Being brave means knowing when to get ready and take shelter. Let's prepare your ranch!"

Calamity Kate, a spunky cowgirl in boots and a wide-brimmed tan cowboy hat, leads three horses—one chestnut, one white, and one black—through the wide doors of the cozy red barn with white trim. In the background, the wind bends the golden field grass under a sky of swirling gray clouds.

Kate ran back to the ranch. She brought all the horses inside the cozy red barn and made sure they had plenty of water and hay. She closed the big barn doors tight. "If a hurricane is coming, bring your animals inside where it is safe," she told herself. "And make sure they have food and water."

A wise old brown pelican with a bright orange beak and tufts of white feathers on his head flies low, carrying a small garden trowel in his beak, heading toward a sturdy white farmhouse with green shutters. In the background, buckets and rakes are stacked near the farmhouse porch under the darkening sky.

Next, Kate picked up buckets, rakes, and anything the wind could blow away. She put them all inside the sturdy farmhouse. Captain Gus helped by carrying small things in his big beak. "Move loose things inside so the wind cannot toss them around!" he called. Kate nodded. They were a good team.

A window of a sturdy white farmhouse with green shutters, seen from the inside, with heavy rain streaking down the glass and swirling gray clouds filling the entire sky beyond it. In the background, rain lashes against the golden fields, now dark and wind-swept.

The wind howled louder and louder. Rain began to fall in big, heavy drops. Kate hurried into the sturdy farmhouse and looked out the window. The swirling gray clouds covered the whole sky now. "The warm ocean water fed this storm and made it strong," Kate whispered. "But we are ready."

Calamity Kate, a spunky cowgirl in boots and a wide-brimmed tan cowboy hat, sits on the wooden floor of the sturdy white farmhouse, hugging her knees, looking calm and brave as shadows of rain streak across the walls. In the background, a warm lantern glows on a small wooden table inside the farmhouse.

The hurricane roared outside. The wind shook the walls, and rain tapped hard on the roof. Kate sat by the door and listened. It was loud and scary, but she knew she had done everything she could. "We are safe inside," she said softly. "The storm will pass." And she waited, feeling brave in her heart.

Calamity Kate, a spunky cowgirl in boots and a wide-brimmed tan cowboy hat, steps through the front door of the sturdy white farmhouse with green shutters into bright golden sunlight, her face full of wonder. In the background, shimmering puddles dot the golden fields under a clearing sky with patches of blue.

Slowly, the wind grew quiet. The rain stopped. Kate opened the door and stepped outside. The air smelled fresh and clean, like the whole world had taken a bath. Puddles shimmered in the golden fields. Captain Gus glided down and landed beside her. "You did it, cowgirl," he said with a wink.

Three horses—one chestnut, one white, and one black—trot joyfully out of the cozy red barn with white trim into a field dotted with tiny green sprouts and shimmering puddles, a brilliant rainbow arcing across the sky. In the background, the warm blue sea sparkles under a bright sun in a freshly washed sky with wisps of white clouds.

Kate opened the barn doors, and the horses trotted out into the sunshine. A big, bright rainbow stretched across the sky from the golden fields all the way to the warm blue sea. New green sprouts were already peeking up from the wet ground. Kate smiled. Storms may come and go, but the world always finds a way to bloom again.

Browse More Stories

from the Fable Public Library

Kindergartener Hurricanes Classic Characters