The sky had finally cleared after a night of booming thunder, flashing lightning, and endless rain. The yard outside was soggy, puddles dotted the walkway, and leaves were scattered everywhere like confetti after a party. But inside the house, a small girl named Bibi was wide awake, sitting cross-legged by the window and watching the first rays of sunshine peek through the clouds.
“Uncle Phong!” she shouted, hopping off the windowsill and running to the kitchen. “The rain stopped! Can we go outside now?”
Uncle Phong, a cheerful man with a kind smile and a mop of black hair, looked up from his coffee and laughed. “Go outside? Bibi, the whole yard looks like a swamp!”
“But I have my rain boots!” Bibi insisted, pointing to her bright pink boots that had little ducks printed on them.
Uncle Phong took a sip of his coffee and gave her a thoughtful look. “Hmm, well… we do have a lot of cleaning to do. The rain made quite a mess.”
Bibi’s eyes sparkled. “I’ll help! I’m really good at cleaning. And I can sweep and scoop leaves and even dry things with a towel!”
“Well then,” Uncle Phong said, standing up and stretching, “if my little helper is ready, we’ve got work to do!”
Outside, the sun was slowly drying the world, but the damage from the storm was everywhere. The front steps were muddy, the porch was covered with leaves, and the swimming pool had turned a strange shade of green from all the debris floating in it.
Bibi followed Uncle Phong around like a little duckling, carrying a small broom that was just her size. “What do we do first?” she asked eagerly.
“Let’s start with the porch,” Uncle Phong said. “We’ll sweep away the leaves and wipe down the furniture.”
Bibi got to work, sweeping with big, dramatic motions that sent leaves flying into the air. She giggled as some landed on her head. Uncle Phong swept with a big push broom, and together they made a great team.
“This is fun!” Bibi said as she scooted a wet cushion into the sunlight. “I’m not just cleaning, I’m playing cleaning!”
Uncle Phong chuckled. “You know, when you turn work into play, it doesn’t feel so hard.”
After the porch was neat and clean, they headed around the house to check the garden. The flowers were droopy and the vegetables were muddy, but Uncle Phong assured Bibi that the plants would perk up with some sunshine.
Bibi found a little frog sitting on a rock. “Hi, froggy!” she said, crouching down to look at it. “You liked the rain, huh?”
The frog blinked slowly and then hopped away, making Bibi laugh.
Next, it was time for the big job: cleaning the swimming pool.
“Oh wow,” Bibi said, peering into the murky water. “There are leaves and sticks and… is that a flip-flop?”
Uncle Phong sighed and nodded. “Yep. The storm really made a mess of it.”
He rolled up his sleeves and pulled out the long pool net. “Let’s scoop out all the debris first. Want to try?”
“Yes, please!” Bibi said excitedly, gripping the net handle with both hands. It was heavy and a little tricky to use, but Uncle Phong stood behind her and guided her arms.
“Got one!” she shouted as she pulled out a soggy leaf.
“Great job!” Uncle Phong said. “Now let’s get a few more.”
They took turns, making it into a game. Each time they fished something out of the pool, they gave it a funny name. One stick became “Captain Twig,” a leaf with holes in it was called “Cheesy Leaf,” and a floating sponge was “The Sea Marshmallow.”
Bibi laughed so hard she nearly dropped the net. “Cleaning is the best game ever!”
After they cleared the surface, Uncle Phong turned on the pool vacuum while Bibi helped scrub the tiles around the edge with a little brush.
“My brush is singing,” Bibi said as she scrubbed and made up a song:
🎵“Scrubby-scrub, we clean the tub,
Even though it’s not a tub!
We make it shine, we take our time,
Because clean pools are just sublime!” 🎵
Uncle Phong clapped. “That’s a hit song if I ever heard one.”
By lunchtime, the pool was looking much better, and the sun was high in the sky. Uncle Phong brought out some lemonade and watermelon slices, and the two of them sat on the freshly cleaned porch, enjoying the fruits of their labor.
Bibi leaned back in her chair, swinging her legs. “That was hard work, but it was fun!”
“You were amazing,” Uncle Phong said. “You didn’t just help—you turned everything into an adventure.”
Bibi smiled proudly. “Maybe we should have a ‘Clean the House and Pool Day’ every month!”
Uncle Phong raised an eyebrow. “Every month? You’d really want to do all this again?”
“Of course!” she said. “But only if we sing songs and play frog games and eat watermelon afterward.”
“Deal,” Uncle Phong said, shaking her hand like it was a big business agreement.
Later that afternoon, Bibi wandered back to the pool. The water was now clear, the surface calm and inviting. She leaned over the edge and saw her reflection.
“I think the pool is happy now,” she said.
Uncle Phong joined her, holding a pair of goggles. “Want to go for a swim?”
Bibi’s eyes lit up. “Really?”
“You earned it, kiddo.”
With a big splash, Bibi jumped into the water, laughing and kicking as she swam around. Uncle Phong followed her in, and soon they were diving for pool toys, playing water tag, and floating on their backs, looking up at the clear blue sky.
“Uncle Phong,” Bibi said as she floated beside him, “today was the best day ever.”
He smiled. “You know what? I think so too.”
As the sun began to set, painting the clouds with pink and orange streaks, the house was clean, the pool sparkled, and laughter echoed in the air.
And just like that, what began as a day of chores turned into a joyful memory Bibi and Uncle Phong would treasure forever.
