One bright morning in Tarrytown, Snuffy and Herky were sitting outside in the warm sunshine looking at the clouds above them, and they began to observe 'cloud shapes'.

"Hey, look at that one! It looks like Breezy!" Herky called. Snuffy agreed that it did indeed resemble him, with beautiful fluttering wings and an agile looking body.

Snuffy looked around, and he saw one that looked like a giant white fluffy spanner. "That one looks like Brenda's spanner!" He exclaimed.

"Where? Oh, I see it! Wow, there's one that looks like a bee and a flower!" Herky said delightedly.

The young skywriter suddenly became awfully curious to find out why clouds were so important. They were in the sky nearly every day and they always looked like new things.

"Herky, why are clouds so important?" He asked his friend.

"I don't know." Herky answered. "Why don't you ask Jay Jay? He's smart."

Snuffy agreed, and after saying goodbye to his friend, he set off to see if Jay Jay could give him an answer.

...

He found Jay Jay racing their friend Tracy, so he waited patiently until it was over before he spoke to the blue jet.

"Hey Snuffy!" Jay Jay greeted.

"Hello Jay Jay." Snuffy replied. "I was hoping to ask you something."

"Okay, Snuffy. What's up?" The young blue jet asked curiously.

"Why are clouds so important? We see them nearly every day, but they don't seem to do much except make funny shapes and drop water on us."

Jay Jay thought about it for a long time, but he didn't know either. "Sorry Snuffy, but I'm not sure. You'd be best to ask Old Oscar. He knows a lot of things."

"Well, thanks anyway, Jay Jay." Snuffy sighed.

"You're welcome Snuffy." Jay Jay replied. "Good luck!"

And so Snuffy took off, eager to find Old Oscar.

But it turned out that Old Oscar was sick, and he didn't want to have visitors until he felt better. Snuffy sadly told Brenda he wished his friend would get well again and he left Brenda's workshop, despondent and upset.

Poor Snuffy! He couldn't find any answer to his question. He looked towards the sky sadly, hoping that somehow, the answer would appear.

Then, he heard the wind whistling and he had an idea. What if he went to Skylandia? His dear friend, Prince Duffy of Skylandia, will know the answer to his question! So Snuffy flew off excitedly to find Mr E.Z O'Malley and ask if he could fly to Skylandia to visit the prince.

"Yes of course you can." Mr O'Malley told the skywriter. "Just be careful, okay?"

"Don't worry sir, I will!" Snuffy replied excitedly, and soon he made his way to the runway for take-off.

He zoomed down the runway and flew up into the air. Snuffy whooped as he flew through the air -past so many white fluffy clouds and birds singing their songs. He couldn't wait to get to Skylandia!

...

Soon he arrived at the wind spout that he and his friends used to get into Skylandia whenever they wished to visit. He took a deep breath and zipped into the wind spout. He felt himself spinning around like clothes in a tumble drier, but he was already used to the feeling.

Once he flew out of the wind spout, he had a look round and saw Skylandia Castle in the distance. As always, it looked beautiful. "I'm back in Skylandia!" He cheered. "I better find Big Jocko and tell him I'm here so the Prince knows!"

He was so excited that he raced off without thinking to look where he was going- but when he did look, he suddenly saw Big Jocko flying towards him!

"Help!" He cried.

"Snuffy!" Big Jocko exclaimed, as Snuffy swerved to the left side to avoid hitting him, and as a result landed on the ground very hard. Big Jocko went to check on him.

"You should be more careful Snuffy! I didn't know you were coming here!" The place guard said crossly.

"I'm sorry Big Jocko. I didn't mean for this to happen." Snuffy replied sadly. The palace guard softened on hearing Snuffy's apology.

"That's okay. Just remember to be more careful in future. Are you alright?" Big Jocko asked in concern.

"I think so." Snuffy replied. "A bit dazed, but I'm in one piece."

"Good." Big Jocko said in relief. "Are you here to see the prince?" He asked the skywriter.

"Yes I am!" Snuffy answered eagerly. "I came all the way here to ask his Highness a very important question."

"In that case, I shall take you to the throne room immediately." Big Jocko told him.

"Thanks Big Jocko." Snuffy said, relieved.

"You're welcome." And with that, the two jets set off for the royal Skylandian throne room.

When they arrived, Snuffy saw his royal friend sitting in his usual place of honour in the room. His golden crown sparkled and shone like the sun.

Prince Duffy of Skylandia was delighted to see Snuffy again. "Welcome back to Skylandia Snuffy!" He greeted. "How can I help you?"

"Your Highness, I flew to Skylandia to ask you a very important question." Snuffy explained.

"I see. What is your question Snuffy?" The prince asked kindly.

"Why are clouds important?" Snuffy inquired. "All they do is drop water on people and make pictures in the sky."

"Yes, they do that, but they are very important in other ways. For one thing, they help us keep cool by giving us shade from the sun. It also holds water for the earth so that it doesn't flood and become a water ball."

"How else are clouds important?" Snuffy persisted.

"Well, they help water crops and provide water to drink and wash cars, planes and other vehicles with." The Prince answered.

"Ohh..." Snuffy breathed in awe. "I never thought about all that!"

Prince Duffy chuckled. "I hope I managed to answer your question, Snuffy." He said kindly.

"Yes you did! Oh, thank you, Your Highness!"

"You're welcome Snuffy." The royal skywriter replied. "I'm always happy to help a friend."

Snuffy was invited to stay in Skylandia for a little while longer, so he did, and he was very pleased with his new knowledge on clouds.