A little girl named Marusya had 2 hamsters called Homka and Tusya. The girl loved them very much and looked after them well.
Homka and Tusya were never friends; they fought over everything. Sometimes they would take food from each other, sometimes they would push each other off their sleeping places. In short, they couldn't get along. The girl often noticed that they were having conflicts, and she was very upset about it.
One day Marusya asked her mum Katerina and dad Mikhail to buy her 2 small cages for Homka and Tusya, since they couldn't live in the same place. Her parents didn't buy these "homes" for the hamsters; they said:
You already have a large cage. You should have bought two from the start.
The girl was very upset and went to play with her pets.
The next day, her grandfather Kolya came to visit Marusya. The girl told him about the hamsters. Grandfather thought for a moment and said:
My dear granddaughter, why don't we make homes for Homka and Tusya ourselves?
Let's do it! — cried Marusya.
Then come to my house, I have all the tools for it, — he said.
The girl got ready and went with her grandfather to his house. They started making cages and didn't notice how night fell. Grandfather Kolya suggested that Marusya stay the night. They had tea and went to sleep. The next day the girl went home and took the handmade homes with her.
When she came home and put the cages for Homka and Tusya on her desk, her mum asked Marusya:
Did you go and buy these "homes" without our permission after all?
No, Mum. I made them with Grandfather yesterday.
How clever you are! — said Katerina, — Well then, go and put your pets in these cages.
The girl approached the cage and saw that Homka and Tusya were no longer fighting, but sleeping peacefully side by side.
Mum, did we make these homes for nothing? Look, they've made up!
Mum came over to the large cage and saw how sweetly their hamsters were sleeping.
Marusya, it wasn't for nothing! I think they felt that you were going to put them in separate cages, and that's why they made up.
Really? — exclaimed the girl.
Of course really! — her mum replied.
From that day on, the hamsters became best friends and never quarrelled again.