Once upon a time, there was a girl called Bahiya. She was eight years old and her parents loved her dearly because she was their only child and they made sure she lacked nothing.

They treated her spoilt her with gifts and wouldn’t let anyone reprimand her, even when she badly behaved. This made Bahiya selfish and disobedient.

One day, during the rainy season, Bahiya, told her father that she was going outside to play with her friends.

Her father warned her to stay within the village and not wander off as the rains had begun to gather.

The village had been experiencing intense rains for seven seasons. They had been unable to farm as much as they did before the weather took another turn.

They had invited several rainmakers to control it, but all to no avail. Whatever it was that was causing the heavy rains was sure stronger than they could imagine, he thought.

Bahiya’s father knew that Bhiya was too little to understand the extremity of the rains but he didn’t want to stop Bahiya from having a good time. After all, she was his only child.

But Bahiya, being Bahiya, paid no heed to her father’s advice for immediately she left his presence, she ran to the four children that were playing, about five huts away from her hut, and persuaded them to hunt rabbits with her in the woods.

The children agreed and so, they set off, paying no mind to the clouds that had begun to form at the far side of the woods.

As they were walking along the bush path, they heard a thunderclap that was so loud, one of the children jumped in fright and said in a shaky voice, “Bahiya, I think we should get back home. The rains are here.”

The other children nodded in agreement as they were all scared. But Bahiya wasn’t having any of that.

“I will not leave this place until I get those rabbits!” Bahiya yelled, pouting at the children.

The first drop of rain landed on one of the children as they were speaking and this caused them to run off towards the direction of the village leaving Bahiya behind.

“Foolish children. I’ll have all of the rabbits to myself and I won’t share with them”, Bahiya muttered under her breath as she continued her journey deeper into the woods.

The rain had begun to fall heavily by this time and Bahiya stubbornly continued. She met some farmers who were on their way back from their farming activities.

They all told Bahiya to return to the village but Bahiya was adamant. So, they left her and went on their way.

Meanwhile, the other children that left Bahiya in the woods had informed Bahiya’s father of her whereabouts.

Bahiya’s father knew that it was only a matter of time before the floods would come crashing down. The villagers had already gone to the “safe hut” for shelter. The safe hut was a hut built high up a hill where the floods couldn’t reach.

Her father, afraid of what would become of his daughter if he didn’t act fast, set out into the woods to look for her.

As the rain grew heavier and heavier, Bahiya heard the sound of moving water from a distance and soon enough, the water came crashing down where she was. She tried climbing up the tree but she slipped and fell into the water and the floods engulfed her.

As the waters carried Bahiya down the woods towards the big river, she began to shout for help and at the same time, tried getting a hold of anything – twigs, logs – that would keep her afloat. But she failed as the water was moving too fast, making it impossible for her to get a good grip.

“Bahiya! Bahiya!” a voice called frantically from the other end of the woods. The voice sounded familiar but she couldn’t make out who it was from the crashing of the floods. The voice called out again but this time, it was clearer.

Bahiya was overwhelmed with joy. It was her father. He was running along the path where the water was streaming along. He was holding a long stick and he asked Bahiya to grab onto it.

Bahiya did as she was told and her father pulled her over to his side on dry land. Dryland. Bahiya had never been so happy to see dry land.

She hugged her father and began to sob. She was ashamed of herself.

Bahiya’s father consoled her and took her back to the village. He knew his daughter was stubborn and disobedient but he also knew the village could have done better by telling the children the implications of the changing weather. Nobody was too old or young to learn the dangers of flooding or the changing weather.

Bahiya’s father communicated this to the villagers when they got to the village and it was agreed that they would gather all of the children in the village and explain the flash floods and the changing weather to them in terms that they would understand.