One day a little boy whose name was Jack
lay on the lawn and watched the clouds drift by.
He told his sister Madeline, "Let's go
ride on a cloud." She said, "But we can't fly."

He thought a while, then came up with a plan.
"Let's climb up on the roof, then reach real high."
She said, "You are so silly. Can't you see
we are too small? We'll never reach the sky."

Determined yet, Jack hoped he'd find a way.
His sister looked at him and gave a sigh.
"Give up," she said, "let's go inside and play."
That's when she saw her brother start to cry.

Sweet Madeline, who loved her brother so,
decided that she had to ask him why
he wanted so to ride upon the clouds.
And when she asked him, this was his reply:

"Someday I want to be an astronaut,"
he said to her, a glimmer in his eye.
"But long before I go to outer space,
to fly upon a cloud I'd like to try."

His sister understood and let him know,
"I'm with you, Jack; on me you can rely."
And so she helped him think of how they might
jump on a cloud which they could occupy.

But then quite suddenly the clouds turned gray
and little drops of rain began to fall.
Both Jack and Madeline decided then
that staying close to home was best of all.

"Don't worry, Jack," his little sister said.
"I know someday you'll make your dream come true
and I, your little sister, will be proud
to be the one who had encouraged you."

The years flew by and on one moonlit night
she stood out on the lawn and looked up high,
aware her brother Jack was out in space.
He'd reached his dream to climb up to the sky.