Once upon a time, in a faraway, very distant fruit country called Fruitlandia, there lived a sweet little Avocado. Everyone simply called him Avo.
Mom Avocadoa and Dad Avocado loved him so much and spoiled him so much that, probably, there was no fruit in all of Fruitlandia more spoiled than Avo.
The parents tried to indulge his every wish, just so their little son would be happy and never upset.
The avocado family had a wonderful tradition. Every day they went for a walk together in the magical fruit garden, because it was warm there no matter the season.
The magic of this garden was that when the fruits were happy, the sun shone, the grass turned green, and the birds sang wonderful songs.
But when the fruits were upset, whining, rude, or sad, the sun disappeared, dark clouds gathered, a strong wind rose, and rain with thunder began.
One day, while strolling through the garden, Avo noticed that nearby they were selling a huge strawberry ice cream with chocolate sprinkles. He really wanted to eat it. He started asking his parents to buy the treat.
At first Mom and Dad refused, since Avo could get a sore throat after so much cold food. The little avocado started whining, and the parents gave in and bought him the huge ice cream.
After eating the ice cream, Avo fell ill almost right away. The whole family had to hurry home.
Meanwhile, in the garden the sun disappeared, and the birds stopped singing their lovely songs, sensing the parents' worry for their little son.
For a long time the parents treated Avo with all kinds of syrups, bitter teas, and compresses. Finally he recovered, and the family was able to return to their beloved fruit garden.
Avo played tag, hide-and-seek, and made funny faces. Dad took photos of him. Then Mom treated her little son to a tasty sandwich. Everyone was happy.
But then Avo saw his friend Banana. In Banana's hands was a huge banana-shaped balloon. Avo became very upset that his friend had a balloon and he didn't.
He went to his parents and demanded that they buy him a balloon shaped like an avocado. And this balloon had to be even bigger than Banana's.
At first the parents refused to buy the huge balloon. Avo didn't just whine, he howled, and very loudly. Mom and Dad had no choice but to give in once again to their spoiled son and buy the balloon.
Once again the fruit garden darkened, the leaves on the trees withered, and a wind rose so strong that Avo nearly flew away together with the balloon. Luckily, the parents managed to grab him.
Avo was very frightened and upset, but once he got home he quickly forgot the incident and went back to his old ways.
Days passed. Avo wanted more and more presents, more and more expensive entertainment. The parents had to work hard to satisfy their son's demands. They were very tired and came home from work late. At times they didn't even have the strength to read Avo a bedtime story. And as for going for walks and playing together in their beloved fruit garden, that wasn't even an option.
One Sunday morning the avocado family did set off for the magical fruit garden. But it was sad there.
The parents were pensive and silent. Only Avo was having fun. A thought flashed through his head that it was cooler in the garden than usual, and the sun barely peeked out from behind the clouds. But he quickly forgot about it.
The garden, however, knew and felt everything. It was like this because Avo's parents realized how wrongly they were raising their little son, that they had spoiled him too much, but did not know what to do now.
Walking along lost in thought, they saw an announcement: "A airplane of the very latest model has arrived at the toy store! Hurry and buy it! Quantities are limited!!! "
Avo's eyes lit up, and he wanted that airplane so badly that he simply could not bear it. He started asking his parents to buy it. Mom and Dad tried to explain to the little avocado that the airplane was too expensive, and that it would take their entire paycheck. But Avo refused to listen.
He dropped to the ground, screaming and kicking his legs. Passersby stared at him in surprise. The parents were very embarrassed by their son.
And what about the fruit garden? It became truly gloomy there. Dark clouds gathered, the wind began tearing leaves from the trees, thunder rumbled, and such a downpour came that the avocado family was soaked through.
For the whole week Avo cried, begged for that airplane, and even refused to eat.
Sweetheart, if we buy you the little airplane, we'll have to work even more, and we simply won't have time to play together, the parents said.
But Avo didn't care.
What kind of parents are you, if you can't buy your only son an airplane! I don't even want to go walking with you, I need a PLA-NE! he shouted in reply.
The parents couldn't take it anymore and gave in to their son once again, spending all their remaining money on the toy. Now they had to work even harder.
Avo kept getting new toys, but he had almost stopped seeing his parents. The family no longer spent time together, played, went for walks, or even just had fun.
It seemed Avo had everything he could wish for. But now he lacked the most important thing: his parents' attention. There was no one to fly the airplane with or walk in the magical garden with, no one to tell the funny story that had happened to him during the day, and no one to kiss or hug him.
One day Avo went to the magical garden alone, but it was very sad for him there.
The garden seemed to freeze, waiting for something very unusual that was about to happen very soon.
Avo walked around the places where he had been happy and remembered. Here he had been on a picnic with his parents, here he had flown a kite with Dad, here Mom had sat on a bench singing him a song while hugging him tightly, and behind that tree he used to hide, and they couldn't find him for a long time.
When Avo thought about this, a smile spread across his face, and then he cried bitterly. He cried until the tears ran out and his eyes hurt. It seemed that together with the tears, everything bad was leaving Avo, and something wonderful was being born.
Having cried it all out, Avo finally realized what he had done. With his own hands he had destroyed all those wonderful moments, trading away the most precious thing, his parents, for unnecessary toys and entertainment.
How deeply he had hurt them, how ungrateful and spoiled a child he had been, one who only demanded but gave nothing in return.
Avo firmly decided that he must ask his parents for forgiveness, and he ran home. He was so agitated that he didn't pay any attention to the garden.
But the garden began to come alive. Sunbeams danced everywhere, flowers bloomed that had never grown there before, and the birds began singing in a new way.
The avocado could not find a place for himself, paced from corner to corner, and looked out the window, waiting for his parents. When Mom and Dad returned, he ran to meet them and hugged them very tightly. Dad Avocado and Mom Avocadoa were very surprised by their son's behavior.
Sweetheart, what's wrong? Has something happened? Does anything hurt? Mom asked.
Mom, Dad, I feel so guilty before you! Avo said through tears. Because of me you work day and night. Today I realized that I don't need toys. What I need is you, your love and your attention. Please forgive me, and don't work so much anymore.
Sweetheart, we love you so much, we only wish you well, and of course we hold no grudge against you. It's very good that you understood for yourself how important family is, not things, the parents replied.
Everyone hugged and cried.
From this day on, everything will be as it was! No, it will be even better! exclaimed Dad Avocado.
Shall we get ready and go for a walk in our beloved magical fruit garden? Mom suggested.
When the avocados came to the garden, everything there was even better than before. Although it was winter in the world, in the magical garden it was summer. The sun shone brightly here, a rainbow stretched across the sky, the garden was fragrant with never-before-seen flowers, and the birds sang the most beautiful songs. Everyone smiled and was friendly as they greeted the avocado family.
Avo and his parents were simply happy, because they had each other. Avo gave himself his word that he would never hurt his parents again.
