In a very kind bear family there lived a little cub named Motya. Motya was a very spoilt and badly behaved bear cub. When the older bears tried to teach him, he would say indignantly:
Don't teach me how to live!!! I know everything already!
And he did everything in exactly the opposite way.
Motya, please don't chew with your mouth open at the table!
His mother bear would plead, blushing with embarrassment at her son's behaviour when they had guests.
It's very tasty!
Motya would say, licking his lips and wiping 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 terribly greedy:
Don't touch it, it's mine. I won't give it to anyone!
That's all you could hear around the place.
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 countryside for re-education.
Grandfather, Boris Mikhailovich, was retired and distinguished himself by his vigour, cheerful nature and great imagination:
Who is this visiting me? Welcome, dear grandson!
Grandfather said happily.
I had no choice, my parents sent me.
Motya muttered under his breath.
It's lovely here in the countryside, the air is fresh. There are mushrooms and berries in the forest. You can help me in the garden!
Grandfather continued, ignoring Motya's disgruntled expression.
Early in the morning, Boris Mikhailovich woke Motya by splashing him with cold water:
In the countryside, people 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 for an early morning run:
You have to run to find happiness!
But Motya couldn't run at all, he stumbled and fell straight 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'll never find your happiness.
But what is happiness?
Happiness comes in many forms: there's happiness just for yourself, which is when you're spoilt, demanding, greedy, don't want to do anything, and don't look after your behaviour. And there's happiness for everyone, which is when you share with others, help out, set an example, and you feel good and those around you are happy. And physical exercise helps you get on the right path to finding happiness for everyone.
Puffing, the bear cub got to his feet and reluctantly trudged after grandfather.
Lift your legs higher, bend your arms at the elbows, run more easily, bounce on your feet!
Vigorous Boris Mikhailovich instructed.
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 bluebell flower rang out now over his right ear, now over his left, and sang in a thin voice: "Don't teach me how to live! Don't teach me how to live, I'm inviting you to the land of 'Whimsy-Land', where nobody teaches anybody anything, everyone does what they want".
And the bluebell stretched out a long stamen 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 land where everyone walked about importantly with their dirty noses in the air.
Here you can do anything you want, isn't that happiness!
And the bluebell disappeared in a magnificent bouquet of wildflowers.
Motya felt hungry. On a large pink bud there was a sign that read "Yummy Treats". He immediately went there. In a spacious hall, on pink tables shaped like rose petals, there were sweet treats, the sort of things children love.
Guests were greedily devouring sweets, smearing them on their cheeks, licking their fingers and chewing noisily. It looked so ugly. "Am I like that when I eat?" Motya wondered in surprise. The bear cub lost his appetite and went outside.
Suddenly, there was loud crying. "Something bad has happened to someone," thought Motya and went towards the sound. But it was just a little hedgehog having a tantrum. He was sitting on dusty ground, flailing his paws:
Give me a phone, I want to play with it!
Look, there are so many different phones here, take any one you like.
They're too far away, put one in my paws!
The hedgehog wouldn't stop, and he burst into a piercing scream again.
In the land of 'Whimsy-Land' 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 badly he had behaved at home. Motya burst into tears….
When Grandfather Boris Mikhailovich approached his grandson, Motya was lying on the path crying, face down:
Bluebell, take me back! I don't want happiness just for myself! I won't upset people any more!
What bluebell?
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!
