Once upon a time, there was a little toothbrush. She lived in a special cup in the bathroom, next to the big brushes. In the morning and evening, the big brushes took turns going to brush teeth, and then they'd return wet and clean, even smelling of toothpaste. But the little brush sometimes stood in the cup all day long, completely dry. And then the big brushes would start laughing at her:
Look, nobody needs her, no one uses her to brush teeth! Maybe your bristles are all messy? Or your handle is crooked and uncomfortable? Or maybe you're just ugly, and nobody wants to be friends with you? Then we won't be friends with you either!
The little toothbrush stood there and couldn't even cry, because she was so dry. And she thought:
But I'm good, I'm pretty, my bristles are straight, and my handle is comfortable. Why don't they use me to brush teeth?
But sometimes they did take her. They'd wet her with water and put her back, but they wouldn't brush teeth. Probably just to trick the grown-ups. And then the big brushes would laugh again:
Look, she doesn't smell like toothpaste! You must be too scary to use for brushing teeth. We don't want to be friends with you!
And sometimes it happened that they'd brush teeth with the little brush, but really quickly. And when the little brush returned to the cup, she was wet and smelled of toothpaste. But the big brushes laughed again:
Why did you come back so fast? It must be gross to brush teeth with you! Yuck, we won't be friends with you if you're gross.
The little brush stood all night feeling very sad. All the people were sleeping, the toys were having plush dreams, and various objects in the house were quietly dozing. And only the little toothbrush gathered all the droplets she had and quietly cried into the sink: "Drip... Drip... Drip..."
But one day they took her, wet her under the tap, put toothpaste on her, and brushed teeth for a long time! The little brush got to meet every single tooth, even the very back ones she'd never seen before. And one of the back teeth told her what had happened. It turned out that a tiny piece of candy had stuck to him and sat there for several days. The brush and paste hadn't come to visit, so the piece had made a real cavity in the tooth!
The tooth hurt so much that he couldn't even sleep. Then a dentist came, treated him, and explained that if they didn't use the brush, he'd get sick again. So now every morning and every evening, the little brush came to visit and cleaned every tooth with fragrant toothpaste.
The big brushes saw how well and thoroughly she worked, and started praising her:
You're doing such a great job! You check every tooth, you don't forget anyone. We're so proud of you! Let's be friends!
And everyone was very, very happy. The teeth didn't hurt anymore, and the brushes didn't fight or pick on those who didn't work well. The little brush didn't feel lonely anymore, because morning and evening she met with all her tooth friends, who told her many interesting stories.
What do you think—does your toothbrush know all your teeth? And is she friends with the other brushes, or does she cry at night while everyone sleeps?
The brushes will be happy,
The teeth will be glad,
If we don't forget
To brush twice a day!
