(Parodos)
- Now the Chorus steps in (well, song-wise; according to the footnotes, they are intended to be physically offstage) and starts calling on the Clouds to grace everyone with their presence. The Chorus then becomes the Clouds and starts talking about raining on everyone.
- Apparently, all their thundering and noise scare Strepsiades, who farts in fear, which: hahahaha. We want to see that happen in real life. Socrates gets annoyed, thinking that Strepsiades is joking around and not being reverent enough.
- Strepsiades asks Socrates who is singing, and Socrates explains that they are "clouds from heaven" who "give us judgment, / dialectic, intelligence, / fantasy and double-talking, / eloquence and forceful talk."
- Strepsiades can't see these "ladies" at first, but then Socrates points at them coming along.
- When the Clouds have apparently arrived, the Chorus Leader speaks to Socrates and Strepsiades on their behalf to find out why the Clouds had been summoned.
- Socrates mentions to Strepsiades that these are the only gods that exist. Strepsiades asks him how that could possibly be, citing a few examples of "evidence" that other gods exist. This conversation involves a fairly detailed lesson on weather.
- Anyway, back to the matter at hand: The Clouds say Strepsiades can get what he wants if he has a good memory, likes to think, and is overall a strong and clean-living dude. Hmm, we'll see!
- Strepsiades explains exactly what he wants, and the Clouds say it's doable, asking him to step forward and "commit" himself to them.
- Then, the Clouds and Socrates work together to test Strepsiades in terms of memory, intelligence, etc. Socrates seems to be getting worried that perhaps his new pupil isn't quite up to the challenges he's about to face.
- Then we get the parabasis, in which the Chorus talks directly to the audience about contemporary issues that matter to the author (e.g., politics).