It happened in a certain forest. The morning sun rose from behind the mountain. And its first gentle rays illuminated the tree leaves, touched by dewdrops.
From afar came the ringing of bellflowers. In his den, little Bear Cub woke up. He lived there with his dignified mother Bear and his stately father Bear. And on that day, Bear Cub had a celebration — his Birthday.
For many long months he had been waiting impatiently for This day to arrive, because the present had been ordered from his parents long ago and his patience was already at its limit. And now! The long-awaited Birthday had arrived!
A large box stood beside his bed. Bear Cub carefully untied the ribbon, opened the box and… Oh, wonder! Before his eyes appeared a big and colorful drum. The gift was decorated with intricate patterns, it came with wide straps to wear around the neck, and two drumsticks, which help produce cheerful sounds from the drum.
Bear Cub was delighted with such a gift, since he had long dreamed of it and secretly hoped that his parents wouldn't change their minds and buy him something else instead. He put it around his neck and rushed out into the forest.
And from that time on, all the forest animals and birds lost their peace. From early morning until late evening, all that could be heard was: "Boom-boom-boom! Bam-bam-bam!"
Bear Cub, rest at least a little, our ears are already ringing, our heads are aching.
The birds pleaded.
And Bear Cub replied:
I'll play just a little longer, aren't you having fun?
He waved the drumsticks, and throughout the whole area rang a very loud "boom-boom-boom!"
The animals could bear it no longer and pleaded:
Bear Cub, stop playing! We have little children, they want to sleep, but because of your playing they can't fall asleep! You're drumming too loudly!
Well, let them be patient a little longer, then they'll fall asleep. Big deal…
Bear Cub the drummer wouldn't stop.
All the insects gathered together: beetles, ladybugs, mosquitoes, butterflies. In chorus they began to ask Bear Cub to stop playing — it had become far too loud in the forest.
The hedgehogs curled up into prickly balls from the noise, the squirrels hid in a wide hollow, the rabbits burrowed into deep burrows, even the crows flew up to the highest trees, so they wouldn't hear the annoying sounds as much.
Bear Cub listened to no one, thinking only of himself and how much fun he was having playing the drum. Therefore all the forest dwellers decided to teach him a lesson.
Toward evening the sun rolled toward sunset, its rays no longer shone so brightly and illuminated the forest expanses. Bear Cub, who had walked all day through the thickets and paths with his drum and beaten it, had grown a bit tired after the whole day, sat down on a colorful meadow with fragrant flowers on a huge ancient stump, resembling a chair, to rest.
Suddenly the unexpected happened: all the birds that lived in this forest and its surroundings, suddenly all together very loudly began to sing, chirp, caw, cuckoo, and twitter. The animals began to play various musical instruments.
The squirrels — on flutes, the foxes — on pianos, the wolves — on guitars, the bears — on double basses, the rabbits — on balalaikas… And all the beetles and butterflies, led by the frogs, began to dance in circles right around the stump on which Bear Cub had sat down to rest.
He was bewildered:
What happened, what's going on?
Little Bear Cub clutched his head with his paws, couldn't stand it and cried out:
Stop! Don't sing, don't play, don't dance! I'm so tired, and you've made such a terrible noise. I always…
And Bear Cub fell silent, realizing that he was the one who had behaved incorrectly when he didn't consider others.
He admitted his mistake, apologized for his bad behavior and rudeness. And he promised that from now on he would play the loud drum only when his resounding "boom-boom-boom" wouldn't bother anyone.
