Once upon a time there lived a boy named Dima. One day he was traveling in distant lands and got lost. After wandering for a long time, Dima finally came upon a road.
But which way should he go — left or right?
The left road led downward all the time. Dima didn't know that it was called the Road of Lies and led people to shame and oblivion. The other — the right one — led upward, to glory, and was called the Road of Honor.
"Which path should I take?" Dima pondered for a long time, and then decided: "Why would I want extra difficulties? I'll choose the easier road."
And he began to descend down the hill. The road turned out to be very easy and smooth. But there was one problem: the lower the descent went, the darker and scarier it became around him. Sinister shadows began to appear on both sides of the road, and an unpleasant cold wind blew from somewhere.
The boy's mood became quite joyless and gloomy, but he didn't want to turn back. After all, that would be difficult: going uphill all the time. So he decided to continue his journey to the end to see where this road would lead.
He often stumbled and fell, which made him angrier and meaner. Soon it became completely dark, and Dima could barely see the road. Now he walked slowly and carefully felt the ground ahead with his foot before each step. And suddenly his foot felt emptiness. There was nothing solid ahead to step on.
Dima crouched down, felt for a stone behind him, and threw it forward, but he didn't hear it hit the ground. He threw another, larger stone, but again silence. It seemed as if the stone was flying into some infinite black abyss. Only now did Dima realize with horror that he was standing on the very edge of a bottomless chasm.
And it was called the Abyss of Oblivion. Everyone who fell into it disappeared forever.
Dima was upset, turned around, and hurried back. It was hard to go uphill, but now Dima knew: he had no other choice. Gradually it began to get lighter, and he could see the road clearly again.
"How many careless people chose the easy path and perished in this abyss," thought the boy as he returned. "How lucky I was to stop in time and not take that last step in my life."
After a long or short time, Dima returned to the place where he had started his descent. Now, without hesitation or stopping, he continued on the road leading upward.
The higher Dima climbed, the brighter the light became. Waterfalls sparkled in the sun, birds chirped joyfully, and Dima had never seen such a rich variety of flowers anywhere before. It seemed as if everything around was reaching toward the sun and rejoicing in its warm rays.
Yes, the uphill road was harder, and climbing it was difficult. But the surrounding unique beauty helped Dima forget about the difficulties. And the steeper and harder the road became, the more beautiful everything around him became.
Even the sky and clouds began to change their usual colors to amazing rainbow hues. From the surrounding beauty, Dima's heart filled more and more with joy and happiness.
And the higher Dima climbed, the better, stronger, and kinder he became.
On difficult and steep climbs, he constantly had to overcome fear and perform feats. The Road of Honor is difficult. But it leads to glory.
How wonderful it would be if this difficult path never ended! — the boy exclaimed loudly and joyfully.
Never-never-never! — the echo answered him.
Will it really never end? — Dima called out loudly again.
It will never end, never end, never end! — the echo repeated.
