Girl Tanya was very fussy. She lived with her mom and dad in a big house on the first floor. And all the neighbours knew when Tanya was in a bad mood. Sometimes she cried so loudly that her mom got a headache, sometimes she stomped her feet and swore so much that her dad clutched his chest. Nobody had any peace because of Tanya. Nothing could please her.
One day the girl asked her parents for a kitten. They were very surprised, because Tanya never thought about anyone but herself. How could they trust her with a living creature?
Her parents refused Tanya. There was a big scandal, but this time they didn't give in to the fussy girl: she wouldn't be able to take care of a kitten. But mom and dad told Tanya's godmother about her wish. The girl's fourth birthday was approaching, and her aunt figured out that Tanya needed to learn to respect others. Just like a fairy godmother from fairy tales, she decided to give the fussy girl a special gift.
Among many beautiful boxes with big bows, one was brighter than all the others. It was a gift from her aunt. Tanya took the box, and her aunt said: "Tanyechka, mom and dad told me about your wish, and I decided to give you something special!" The girl thought her godmother was talking about a kitten. She happily opened the box, but there was just an ordinary plush bear inside. Tanya cried and ran away without hearing what her aunt wanted to tell her.
The thing was, this bear was not ordinary, but magical. If Tanya had taken care of it, it would have come to life and become her best friend. But the girl, offended at her aunt, only threw the toy under the bed.
Days and weeks passed, and the bear became more and more covered with dust. The girl didn't even remember it. But one day she got tired of her old toys and found the teddy bear under the bed. Out of boredom, Tanya decided to give it some tea and tell it how upset she was that instead of a kitten, she got a simple plush toy. When Tanya handed the bear another piece of cake that she had managed to sneak from the kitchen, it seemed to her that the teddy bear blinked.
The girl was so surprised that she decided to check if she had imagined it. She poured the bear some more hot tea and handed him a small cup. He blinked again. "Wow!" thought Tanya. From that day on, she began to look after the bear.
Tanya put the toy to sleep, and sometimes it seemed to her that it sighed tiredly. She read it a fairy tale and was almost sure that the bear nodded at the most interesting moments.
Tanya's behaviour began to change. She no longer shouted for no reason and tried to obey her parents, to be attentive to them and to her new teddy bear friend.
And one fine day, when the girl fell asleep, she dreamed that the bear came to life. She saw how it walked around the room and played with toys, how it ate cookies on a toy stove and whistled funny melodies. And then it lay right down next to her with a cookie and fell asleep. In the morning, Tanya woke up and found cookie crumbs in her bed. The bear was not there; it was sleeping in its little bed.
The girl went up to her favourite toy, picked it up and looked closely into its eyes. And now she clearly saw how the teddy bear smiled at her and winked. So she wasn't mistaken! She was right! Now she would definitely take care of it like a best friend, because it was almost alive! At least in her dreams. But who knows, maybe she could play with it in a dream somehow?
The unusual gift from her godmother taught the little fussy girl to care not only about herself, but also about others, to listen to and understand their wishes.
And they lived happily ever after!
