In a wonderful forest, there lived two little mouse friends. One was called Snowdrop, because her ears were white, and the other was called Rosie, because her ears were pink. They were very cute, fluffy, and quick. The mice had eyes like two little black beads, sparkling and mischievous, and their tails were tiny and very neat.
But the friends had completely different personalities. Snowdrop worked all day long, never sitting idle for a minute:
Why can't you just relax? How can you work all day, running here and there?
Rosie would laugh at her friend.
Don't you want to do something useful yourself?
The mouse replied.
Snowdrop knew that winter would come and finding food outside would be practically impossible. That's exactly why she gathered supplies for herself. She collected nuts, mushrooms, and berries. In the ground she dug a burrow, insulated it with dry twigs and leaves, and lined it with soft moss.
In the cozy burrow was a small pantry, where Snowdrop stored all her winter supplies, for when the nasty cold wind would blow, when snow would cover everything around, and it would be impossible to find even a bread crumb, a ripe berry, or a seed. But the mouse would have everything—both food and a warm, cozy burrow. What a clever little gray Snowdrop.
Well, you're acting like you're preparing for a famine, Snowdrop! How will you eat all that? You're so small! Or maybe you're just greedy and don't want anyone else to gather so much food for themselves?
Rosie continued to mock.
A cold winter and bitter frosts are ahead, and we need to be prepared!
Hard-working Snowdrop replied and continued doing her work.
Rosie just laughed. She was completely different. She ran very fast too, just as quick and restless. But instead of storing food for winter, Rosie ran from flower to flower, sang cheerful catchy songs, danced, and sometimes did nothing at all, just daydreamed and gazed at the clouds that floated over the forest like a waterfall. Another favorite activity of Rosie's was chatting with the birds.
She would lie down in the meadow and say:
Did you see, friends, how Snowdrop fusses? Not a moment's peace, always walking around, gathering food, insulating her burrow with twigs, as if there aren't other interesting things to do!
But you, Rosie, why aren't you making winter supplies?
The birds wondered.
I don't need much! When winter comes, I'll run through the forest, quickly pick a berry and eat it, that'll be enough for me.
The mouse answered confidently.
So the hot summer flew by, and the rainy cold autumn arrived. Leaves began to fall from the trees, berries also fell and dried up. It became harder and harder for Rosie to find food, and there was no suitable place for shelter, everything around was wet and cold.
And soon the bitter winter came, cold, blizzardy, snowy, and very frightening for such homeless creatures. Now Rosie sat all day in her cold, uninsulated burrow, shivering from the cold and dying of hunger, she couldn't even imagine how she would survive until the warm spring days.
What should I do? What can I do? Where can I get food, how can I not freeze to death in this cold burrow?
Rosie cried.
And suddenly the mouse remembered her friend Snowdrop, who had stocked up on food for the whole winter and insulated her burrow with dry twigs and leaves. And Rosie decided to try her luck and ask for shelter for the winter. Although she didn't hope that Snowdrop would let her into her home.
Rosie runs along the snowy paths through the huge trees, and finally reached Snowdrop's burrow.
Friend, my dear Snowdrop, please let me in!
Rosie begged.
Oh my! Why are you all shriveled up?
Snowdrop asked.
You were telling me the truth in the summer, but I didn't listen to you. I have neither food nor a warm home. I have nothing to eat at all, there's not a berry in the forest, not a piece of bread, not a seed, not a mushroom. And I never insulated my burrow, it's terribly cold there.
Of course, Snowdrop let her friend in, gave her hot herbal tea, fed her seeds with tasty berries, covered her with a warm woolen blanket. And in the morning Snowdrop invited Rosie to live in her burrow.
So the friends lived together until spring. But from then on, Rosie understood that she needed to work, and next year to make food supplies and prepare her home for the cold winter. That's how she learned that without work there is no good life.
