In a very kind bear family there lived a little cub named Motya. Motya was a very spoiled and ill-behaved bear cub. When the elders tried to teach him, he would say offendedly:
Don't teach me how to live!!! I already know everything!
And he did everything the opposite way.
Motya, please don't chew with your mouth open at the table!
His mother bear would ask, blushing for her son in front of guests.
It's so delicious!
Motya would lick his lips and wipe his hands on himself.
Motya, please sweep the porch and help me!
I don't have time, I'm playing!
The bear cub was also very greedy:
Don't touch it, it's mine. I won't give it to anyone!
That's all you could hear around.
His parents were very ashamed of their son, but they couldn't do anything about it. So they had to send him to his grandfather in the village for re-education.
Grandfather, Boris Mikhailovich, was retired and was known for his energy, cheerful nature, and great imagination:
Who has come to visit me? Welcome, dear grandson!
Grandfather was delighted.
I had no choice, my parents sent me.
Motya mumbled to himself.
It's nice here in the village, the air is fresh. There are mushrooms and berries in the forest. You can help me in the garden!
Ignoring Motya's displeased expression, grandfather continued.
Early in the morning, Boris Mikhailovich woke Motya by splashing him with cold water:
In the village, we don't sleep long, you can sleep through your happiness!
But where is this happiness?
Come on, I'll show you.
And grandfather took his grandson on a morning run:
You have to run to find happiness!
But Motya didn't know how to run at all, he stumbled and fell right away:
Ahhh! I can't run and I won't, it's too hard!
Yes, the first step is always the hardest, but you have to overcome it. Otherwise you will never see your happiness.
But what is happiness?
It comes in many forms: there's happiness just for you, that's when you're spoiled, demanding, greedy, don't want to do anything, and don't watch your behaviour. And there's happiness for everyone, that's when you share with others, help, set an example, and you feel good and those around you are happy. And physical activity helps you get on the right path to find happiness for everyone.
Puffing, the bear cub got to his feet and slowly trudged after grandfather.
Higher legs, bend your arms at the elbows, run easier, spring with your legs!
Energetic Boris Mikhailovich coached.
Don't teach me how to live! I know myself!
The bear cub snapped back, stumbled and fell.
And then Motya had a vision: a blue bellflower rang above his right ear, then his left ear, and sang in a thin voice: "Don't teach me how to live! Don't teach me how to live, I invite you to the land of 'Whimsy-ville', where no one teaches anyone, everyone does what they want".
And the bellflower stretched out its long pistil and offered it to Motya: "Hold on, let's fly!" Before the bear cub could come to his senses, he found himself in a colourful country where everyone walked around importantly with their dirty noses in the air.
Here you can do anything you want, isn't that happiness!
And the bellflower disappeared in a luxurious bouquet of wildflowers.
Motya got hungry. On a large pink bud there was a sign "Yummy Treats". He immediately went there. In a spacious hall, on pink tables shaped like rose petals, were sweet treats, the things children love most.
Guests greedily devoured the sweets, smearing them on their cheeks, licking their fingers and chewing loudly. It looked so ugly. "Am I like that when I eat?" Motya wondered. The bear cub lost his appetite and went outside.
Suddenly, there was loud crying. "Something bad happened to someone," thought Motya and went towards the crying. But it was the tantrums of a little hedgehog. He sat on dusty ground and kicked his paws:
Give me a phone, I want to play with it!
Look, there are so many different phones here, take any one.
They're far away, put one in my hands!
The hedgehog wouldn't stop, and he burst into a piercing scream again.
In the land of "Whimsy-ville" there was an abundance of everything any child could dream of, but Motya didn't want anything. He wandered into a cinema and entered an empty hall.
A film called "Look at Yourself from the Outside" was starting. The magic screen showed the bear cub how he behaved badly at home. Motya burst into tears….
When Grandfather Boris Mikhailovich approached his grandson, Motya was crying, lying on the path, face down:
Bellflower, take me back! I don't need happiness just for myself! I won't upset those around me anymore!
What bellflower?
Asked Boris Mikhailovich. Motya was delighted when he saw grandfather:
I must have imagined it, Grandpa, let's run and find the path to happiness for everyone!
