Short Story about Schoolchildren on Venus

I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out the title and author of a short story I read in school so that I can share it with my husband who also really appreciates science fiction.

It is about school children on Venus where the rain only stops once every 7 years (or maybe it was 10 years). The day when this story takes place is the only day that they can play outside for years. One girl is bullied and subsequently locked in a closet for this event by her classmates. She misses the sun break entirely.

It's wonderful tale that I read in a short story collection in the mid-80's (The books were tan colored - and I think there were at least 2 or 3 of them in the series). I don't know if these books were originally published in the 80's or not. But, seeing as these were schoolbooks my guess is that they were published in the 1970's or earlier. They also contained Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book stories, if that helps.

Does anyone happen to know the title and/or author of this short story? I would love to be able to read it again and share it.

Comments

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