Girl Tanya was very spoilt. She lived with her mum and dad in a large house on the ground floor. And all the neighbours knew when Tanya was in a bad mood. Sometimes she cried so loudly that her mum's head would start to ache, 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 except herself. How could they trust her with a living creature?
Her parents refused Tanya. There was a big tantrum, but this time they didn't give in to the spoilt child: she wouldn't be able to look after a kitten. But mum and dad told Tanya's godmother about her wish. The girl's fourth birthday was approaching, and her aunt realised that Tanya needed to learn to respect others. Just like a fairy godmother from fairy tales, she decided to give the spoilt child a special gift.
Among many beautiful boxes with large bows, one was brighter than all the others. It was a gift from her aunt. Tanya took the box, and her aunt said: "Tanyechka, mum 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 inside was the most ordinary plush teddy bear. Tanya cried and ran away without hearing what her aunt wanted to tell her.
The thing was, this teddy bear was not ordinary, but magical. If Tanya had looked after it, it would have come to life and become her best friend. But the girl, upset with her aunt, simply threw the toy under the bed.
Days and weeks passed, and the teddy bear became covered in dust more and more. The girl didn't even think about it. But one day she got bored with 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 an ordinary plush toy. When Tanya handed the teddy bear another piece of cake, which 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 teddy bear some more hot tea and handed him a small cup. He blinked again. "Wow!" thought Tanya. From that day on, she started to look after the teddy bear.
Tanya put the toy to bed, and sometimes it seemed to her that he sighed wearily. She read him a fairy tale and was almost sure that the teddy 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 teddy bear came to life. She saw how he walked around the room and played with toys, how he ate biscuits on a toy stove and whistled funny melodies. And then he lay down right next to her with a biscuit and fell asleep. In the morning Tanya woke up and found biscuit crumbs in her bed. The teddy bear was not there; he was sleeping in his little bed.
The girl went up to her favourite toy, picked it up and looked closely into his 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 look after him like a best friend, because he was almost alive! At least in her dreams. But who knows, maybe she would manage to play with him in a dream somehow?
The unusual gift from her godmother taught the little spoilt girl to care not only about herself, but also about others, to listen to and understand their wishes.
And they lived happily ever after!
