There were maidens who lived in the clouds and spun the cloud flax into silver yarn. 

The threads of silver yarn spun from the clouds were the threads of fate and they reached down on the earth in the strings of raindrops. When it rained, people would jump up to grab hold of the strings and pull at them. Fascinated by the silver sparkles, everyone would push their way forward, each trying to be ahead of others. Without being aware of the significance of the threads, they would often grab the ones that seemed closest or were easier to catch.