In a very kind bear family there lived a little cub named Motya. Motya was a very capricious and ill-behaved bear cub. When his elders tried to teach him, he would say offendedly:
Don't teach me how to live!!! I already know everything!
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 for her son in front of guests.
It's so delicious!
Motya would lick his lips and wipe his hands on himself.
Motya, please wash the porch and help me!
I don't have time, I'm playing!
The bear cub was also very greedy:
Don't touch it, it's mine. I won't give it to anyone!
That's all anyone heard around the neighborhood.
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 village for re-education.
Grandfather, Boris Mikhailovich, was retired and distinguished himself by his vigor, cheerful character, and great imagination:
Who has come to visit me? Welcome, dear grandson!
Grandfather was delighted.
I had no choice, my parents sent me.
Motya mumbled to himself.
We have good air in the village. There are mushrooms and berries in the forest. You can help me in the garden!
Ignoring Motya's displeased expression, grandfather continued.
Early in the morning, Boris Mikhailovich woke Motya by splashing him with cold water:
In the village, we 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 on a morning run:
You have to run to find happiness!
But Motya couldn't run at all, he stumbled and fell right 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 will never see your happiness.
But what is happiness?
Happiness comes in many forms: there is happiness just for you, which is when you whine, demand things, are greedy, don't want to do anything, and don't watch your behavior. And there is happiness for everyone, which is when you share with others, help, set an example, and you feel good while those around you are joyful. And physical exercise helps you get on the right path to find happiness for everyone.
Puffing, the bear cub got to his feet and reluctantly trudged after grandfather.
Higher with your legs, bend your arms at the elbows, run easier, spring with your legs!
The 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 bellflower rang above his right ear, then above his left, and sang in a thin voice: "Don't teach me how to live! Don't teach me how to live, I invite you to the land of 'Whimsy-Land', where no one teaches anyone, everyone does what they want".
And the bellflower stretched out a long pistil and offered it to Motya: "Hold on, let's fly!" Before the bear cub could come to his senses, he found himself in a colorful country where everyone walked around importantly with their dirty noses in the air.
Here you can do anything you want, isn't that happiness!
And the bellflower disappeared in a luxurious bouquet of wildflowers.
Motya got hungry. On a large pink bud there was a sign "Yummy Treats". He immediately went there. In a spacious hall, on pink tables shaped like rose petals, were sweet treats, the kind that children love.
Guests greedily devoured the 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. The bear cub lost his appetite and went outside.
Suddenly, loud crying was heard. "Something bad happened to someone," thought Motya and went toward the crying. But it was just a little hedgehog being whiny. He sat on dusty ground and kicked his legs:
Give me a phone, I want to play with it!
Look, there are so many different phones here, take any one.
They're far away, put one in my hands!
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 wanted nothing. He wandered into a movie theater and entered an empty hall.
A film called "Look at Yourself from the Outside" was starting. The magical screen showed the bear cub how he had behaved so badly at home. Motya burst into tears....
When Grandfather Boris Mikhailovich approached his grandson, Motya was crying, lying on the path, face down:
Bellflower, take me back! I don't need happiness just for myself! I won't upset those around me anymore!
What bellflower?
Asked Boris Mikhailovich. Motya was delighted when he saw his grandfather:
I must have imagined it, grandpa, let's run and find the path to happiness for everyone!
