Far, far away, beyond the seas and mountains, in the Kingdom of Sky (next door to the Sun and Moon) lived a little child — a Cloud named Pufik. He was very cheerful and carefree. Pufik loved to walk across the sky with his kind and gentle mum — Cumulus Cloud and his strong big dad Thunder, who loved him very much.
Often the three of them would travel across the entire sky and admire the magical nature.
One day Pufik flew out to play without his parents. He was happy and delighted looking down from above at children just like himself. They were laughing and enjoying the beautiful sunny weather. But suddenly Pufik felt sad. He wanted to enjoy the sunshine carefree with them, chase sunbeams, run and play hide-and-seek. So he decided to approach them to make friends.
Hello, my name is Pufik, I live in the sky. Let's play together. I'd like to be your friend.
What can you do?
The children asked.
I don't know.
Cloud said uncertainly.
Can you play tag?
The children asked.
No, I can't.
Cloud replied.
What about ball?
Ball?
Cloud asked back.
Oh, I can't do that either, I don't have hands like you do.
So what will you play with us?
The children asked in bewilderment.
You can't play anything. No, we won't be your friend. You're not good, you block out the sun.
The children said.
You're not like us, and you won't be able to play with us. Go away, we won't be your friend.
The children repeated. And Cloud flew away. It felt terrible. It felt unwanted and abandoned.
Nobody loves me. Nobody wants to play with me, I can't do anything. Why am I not like these children?
It sobbed through tears. It wanted to fly far, far away so nobody would see it.
If nobody loves me, then why do I need to be here, why should I live. And my parents probably don't love me either, they just feel sorry for me because I can't do anything, nothing works out for me.
Thought little Pufik. So the cloud drifted across the sky until it reached a desert, where it became so sad that it cried even harder, and its little teardrops, falling bitterly to the earth, formed a beautiful blue lake. And the cloud kept crying and crying until it heard the voices of animals and birds, plants and trees. These voices, coming from the earth, thanked it for quenching their thirst and filling them with new life.
And at that moment the little helpless cloud with a beautiful and tender name Pufik understood that it too could do something, that it meant something in this life and could bring joy to those around it. And most importantly — it understood that it loved everything around it, and felt that it was needed by someone, that it was loved, waited for, and relied upon.
From all of this it suddenly felt very happy and light. All the animals and birds began to praise the little Cloud:
Hurray for Cloud! You're the best Cloud in the whole world! You're so beautiful, light and fluffy, we love you very much and want you to be our friend!
They cried out. Pufik was happy! He flew back to the meadow where the children who had hurt him were playing. But he wasn't upset with them anymore, because he had understood so much. The sun was shining, it was very hot and everyone wanted summer coolness. So Pufik decided to make everyone happy and sent down a gentle summer rain. The children jumped with delight in the puddles and stretched their arms to the Sky. And then they saw in the Sky that very same little Cloud that had brought them such joy.
Dear Cloud. Don't go away, let's play hide-and-seek with you. Let's be your friend!
They cried out.
For little Pufik this was the greatest reward for his efforts. He understood that you just need to try — and then you'll definitely find many good friends.
The sun was shining, the weather was beautiful, a little white fluffy cloud drifted happily across the Sky, and below on the grass children ran, trying to catch their new friend. They circled around for a long time and sang their favourite songs to Pufik.
Key phrase:
I'm not like everyone else. Nobody wants to be my friend!
Discussion questions
Why did Pufik think that nobody loved him?
What made Pufik feel happy and light? What did he understand?
Has anything like this ever happened to you?
