Far, far away, beyond the seas and mountains, in the Kingdom of Sky (next door to the Sun and Moon) lived a little child — a Cloud named Pufik. He was very cheerful and carefree. Pufik loved to walk across the sky with his kind and gentle mother — Cumulus Cloud and his strong big father Thunder, who loved him very much.
Often the three of them would ride across the entire sky and admire the magical nature.
One day Pufik flew out for a walk without his parents. He was happy and delighted to look down from above at children just as small as himself. They laughed and rejoiced in the beautiful sunny weather. But suddenly Pufik felt sad. He wanted to carefree enjoy the sunshine with them, catch sun rays, run and play hide-and-seek. And he decided to approach them to make friends.
Hello, my name is Pufik, I live in the sky. Let's play together. I would like to be friends with you.
What can you do?
The children asked.
I don't know.
Little Cloud said uncertainly.
Can you play tag?
The children asked.
No, I can't.
Cloud answered.
What about ball?
Ball?
Cloud asked back.
Oh, I can't do that either, I don't have hands like you do.
So what will you play with us?
The children asked in bewilderment.
You can't play anything. No, we won't be friends with you. You're not good, you block the sun from us.
The children said.
You're not like us, and you won't be able to play with us. Go away, we won't be friends with you.
The children repeated once more. And Cloud flew away. It felt terrible. It felt unwanted and abandoned.
Nobody loves me. Nobody wants to play with me, I can't do anything. Why am I not like these children?
It sobbed through tears. It wanted to fly far, far away so no one would see it.
If nobody loves me, then why do I need to be here, why should I live. And my parents probably don't love me either, they just feel sorry for me because I can't do anything, nothing works out for me.
Little Pufik thought. So the cloud drifted across the sky until it flew to a desert, where it became so sad that it cried even harder, and its little teardrops, falling bitterly to the earth, formed a beautiful blue lake. And the cloud kept crying and crying until it heard the voices of animals and birds, plants and trees. These voices, coming from the earth, thanked it for quenching their thirst and filling them with new life.
And at that moment, the little helpless cloud with a beautiful and tender name Pufik understood that it too could do something, that it meant something in this life and could bring joy to those around it. And most importantly — it understood that it loves everything that surrounds it, and felt that someone needed it very much, that it was loved, waited for, and relied upon.
From all of this, it suddenly felt very happy and light. All the animals and birds began to praise the little Cloud:
Long live Cloud! You are the best Cloud in the world! You are so beautiful, light and fluffy, we love you very much and want you to be our friend!
They cried out. Pufik was happy! He flew back to the meadow where the children who had hurt him were playing. But he was no longer upset with them, because he had understood so much. The sun was shining, it was very hot and everyone wanted summer coolness. Then Pufik decided to make everyone happy and poured a gentle summer rain on the earth. The children jumped with delight in the puddles and stretched their hands to the Sky. And then they saw in the Sky that very same little Cloud that had brought them such joy.
Dear Cloud. Don't go away, let's play hide-and-seek with you. Let's be friends with you!
They cried out.
For little Pufik this was the greatest reward for his efforts. He understood that you just need to try — and then you will definitely find many good friends.
The sun was shining, the weather was beautiful, a little white fluffy cloud drifted happily across the Sky, and below on the grass children ran, trying to catch their new friend. They circled around for a long time and sang their favorite songs to Pufik.
Key phrase:
I'm not like everyone else. Nobody wants to be friends with me!
Discussion Questions
Why did Pufik think that nobody loved him?
What made Pufik feel happy and light? What did he understand?
Has anything like this ever happened to you?
