Week 4 Story: The Great Storm

Authors Notes: After reading the story of Noah, it was clear to me that the reason God sent the flood was because there was no focus on love in the world, only lust. This lust came in the form of many different idols, whether it be skin, money, or power. The story of Noah goes to show how Gods great mercy and compassion was able to wipe this lust from the planet, and allowed Noah and his family to start the world anew. This story goes to show how a young boy named Rohan, was able to conquer his fear and trust his two friends to stop a great storm.


In the early years of his life, Rohan was always seen as something more than normal. He had odd tendencies when it came to playing with other kids. Sometimes when he was at the swimming pool with his summer camp group, he would fasten all the pool floaties to the tanning chairs and throw them in the pool declare that the other kids were not worthy of being on his boat. Rohan also loved animals and even had the ability to speak to them. Often times, Rohan would leave his friends to go talk in the forest with the animals. His favorite animals were the birds, and his favorite birds were doves, his least favorite was the snake. One day, it started raining, and the rain didn't stop for many weeks. Now Rohan had always had a special affinity for water, and when he had the chance, he would go outside to play in the rain. A week after the rain began, when Rohan was playing outside, two doves flew to him and as soon as Rohan saw them, he knew something was wrong.

The Storm
credit: pxhere

These two doves were very special to Rohan, and he had named them Babe and Bell. Babe approached Rohan and landed on his out stretched hand and began telling Rohan of a vision that he had about the rain. Babe said to Rohan, "Rohan, you are the only one that can communicate with us, and we have a horrible feeling that this storm is the one that has been prophesied about by the greats. In our ancestors lives, they had seen storms but had always talked about the "Great Storm," and how it was on its way to us." Rohan looked at Babe and said, "I don't understand, it's just a little rain right?" Babe refuted back quickly and said to Rohan, "You don't understand giant, this is the rain that has come to destroy all in its path, all of the trees that we live in and all of the houses that your race lives in." Rohan quickly adjusted and looked at the other dove Bell, who was crying deeply. Rohan stiffened up and said, "Well what do we do?" To this Babe said, "Where is the book?"

Many years ago, Rohan had come across a book that he found when on his way to the forest to talk with his animal friends. The book was inside of a wooden chest that was sitting under a tall tree. The box looked very old and beaten up. When Rohan leaned down to pick it up, he noticed a small dove egg was right next to it. He sat down next to the tree and opened the chest. Inside the chest, was the book that was titled, "Savior of the Storm." As Rohan began to read it, he noticed doves started appearing next to him, and he first thought it was because of the egg on the ground, but as he looked again, he noticed the egg had hatched. The baby dove that emerged was Babe. From this point on he continued to care after Babe, and made sure to go to the forest a couple times a week to check on the bird.

In the pouring rain, Rohan remembered where he had placed the book, and took the doves inside his room to help him find it. Once he had the book he asked the doves once again, "What do I do?" Both Bell and Babe told him that he must find the strength within himself to conquer the storm. Rohan asked them what that meant, and the birds told him that in order to conquer the storm, he must conquer his fears. Rohan knew what to do.

The same day that Rohan found the chest with the book inside it, he was followed home by a group of snakes. These snakes were evil little things, and Rohan thought to himself that there is no reason that snakes should be anywhere near the doves. He trapped the snakes that followed him and threw them into a lake. From this point forward, Rohan did everything he could to stay away from snakes. At this moment though, he realized that with this horrible rain destroying the snakes homes, he was not so different. Rohan had always been an outcast in his friend group and in school, which is why he found deep friendships with the animals. Rohan began to consider that maybe the snakes weren't so different from himself. With a rain coat and a backpack full of towels, Rohan ran back to the forest with the birds. When he got there, the doves lead him to the snakes den. He saw snakes pouring up out of the holes in the ground, with the parent snakes doing their best to hold on to the children. Rohan hated seeing this, but also hated the snakes. He knew he had to save them, but also was terrified of them. Rohan quickly mustered up some courage, and began grabbing the snakes and throwing them into his back pack. He grabbed as many as he could, and the doves even helped out by latching on to some of the smaller snakes and carrying them to a drier area. Once Rohan had gathered all the snakes in the forest, he took them back home and placed them in a shed, where he had laid out straw, grass, and some dirt. After a few days, the rain ceased. Rohan checked in on the snakes and all of them greeted him with praise and love.

Rohan's ability to conquer his fear of snakes and let go of the past allowed him to save the snake community in the forest. As the snakes returned to their homes, Rohan and the doves realized that this act of love, was what the book had called him to do. It only took a little compassion and courage for Rohan to stop the great storm.

Original Story: Ginzberg, L., Legends of the Jews, Noah Unit