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 Puffik. He was very cheerful and carefree. Puffik loved to walk across the sky with his kind and gentle mother — Cumulus Cloud and his strong big father Thunder, who loved him very much.
Often the three of them would travel across the entire sky and admire the magical nature.
One day Puffik flew out to play without his parents. He was happy and delighted to look down from above at children just as small as himself. They were laughing and rejoicing in the beautiful sunny weather. But suddenly Puffik felt sad. He wanted to rejoice carefree with them in the sunshine, catch sunbeams, run and play hide-and-seek. And he decided to approach them to make friends.
Hello, my name is Puffik, I live in the sky. Let's play together. I would like to be your friend.
What can you do?
The children asked.
I don't know.
Little Cloud said uncertainly.
Can you play tag?
The children asked.
No, I can't.
Little Cloud answered.
What about ball?
Ball?
Little Cloud repeated.
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 confusion.
You can't play anything. No, we won't be your friend. You're not good, you block the sun from us.
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 Little 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 no one 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.
Little Puffik thought. So the cloud drifted across the sky for a long time until it flew to a desert, where it became so sad that it cried even harder, and its little tears, 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 Puffik 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 loves everything that surrounds 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 Little Cloud:
Long live Cloud! You are the best Cloud in the whole world! You are so beautiful, light and fluffy, we love you very much and want you to be our friend!
They cried out. Puffik was happy! He flew back to the meadow where the children who had hurt him were playing. But he was no longer upset with them, as he had understood so much. The sun was shining, it was very hot and everyone wanted summer coolness. Then Puffik decided to make everyone happy and poured a gentle summer rain on the earth. 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 friends!
They cried out.
For little Puffik this was the greatest reward for his efforts. He understood that you just need to try — and then you will 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 for a long time in a ring dance and sang their favourite songs to Puffik.
Key phrase:
I'm not like everyone else. Nobody wants to be my friend!
Discussion Questions
Why did Puffik think that nobody loved him?
What made Puffik feel happy and light? What did he understand?
Has anything like this ever happened to you?
