Part One
We're all talking about something for adults and for adults... and let's tell a story for children just before the holidays. You can have a fairy tale-a little magical, a little sad, but always with a happy ending. As a fairy tale should be, and even on New Year's Eve and Christmas. Agreed?
If so, then we postpone everything, gather the children around us, and the adults... Let them listen too.
I heard this story from a Ukrainian artist, and she, in turn, heard it from her grandmother from Volhynia.
Once upon a time, in addition to people, animals, birds, trees and various flowers, there were also stars on Earth. It was a little cramped, but we got along somehow. They didn't dig into someone else's space, but they took care of their own and kept it clean. I must say, the sky above the earth was already huge and boundless. The Sun lived in one corner of it, the Moon in the other, and the rest of the celestial space was empty, vast and uninhabited. The flowers were the first to notice this. They gathered somehow and informed all the other inhabitants of the Earth that they were going to live in heaven, since there was enough space there.
And so the flowers turned into butterflies and flew in. But after a while they returned back to Earth.
- We can't live there. They all began to wither, wither without a nursing land, without its life-giving soil and without its rains, which quench thirst.
And then the stars took the word. It turned out that they, too, had long dreamed of flying into the sky, but were afraid to admit it. The fact is that, as laid down by the Creator of all things, each star had its own person on Earth, and each person had his own star. To be honest, the stars themselves did not live very well on earth. The light coming from them in all directions, as soon as it came into contact with the ground, immediately faded and immediately disappeared. Therefore, the stars became paler and smaller. It was hard for the stars, but they endured because they were most afraid of losing their friendship with people.
And then something unexpected happened, first of all for the stars themselves. All the people who lived on Earth realized how much they loved their stars, and they understood them.
"Go," people say to the stars, "to heaven." There's a lot of space there, and you'll shine even brighter on us no matter how far away you are. And the friendship that unites us, we will continue to feel, and maybe it will become even stronger, because your light will become more radiant.
And so the stars began to prepare for the road. But before they left the Earth, a very tiny star came to its sister stars. She said she couldn't go with them, that she couldn't leave Earth.:
- I'm friends with a little girl and I can't fly away from her. She has a puppy in the yard, and a bird in the garden, and there are big potted flowers on the windows, but most of all she loves me.
- Okay, the stars said. - We will discuss what is best to do and how to deal with you. There's still time, you see, the sun is rising. Lie down and rest for now.
The little star lay down and fell asleep.
Meanwhile, the stars were hastily gathering and seemed to have forgotten their promise. The little star was taken with them while she was sleeping, and when she woke up, the stars were already very high and very, very far from the Earth.…
Part two
Do you remember how the first part of our Christmas story ended? The baby star woke up when it was already far from the Earth. The older stars apologized to her for not waking her up before they flew in. But she didn't take offense at them, as they were the closest and dearest to her.
And so the stars scattered across the sky - who settled where. And everything was illuminated with starlight so brightly that people on a distant earth saw their stars, their light, and felt that the connection between them had not weakened, and maybe even became stronger.
The little star has also found a secluded, cozy corner in the vast expanse of heaven. But no matter how well she lived there, she was still worried about the cute little creature that remained on earth. And so she turned back to her sister stars, told them about her former intention to return to Earth.
"Yes," they replied, "you can do it." But there's only one possibility-you'll never be able to come back to us again. And that's why we didn't leave you on Earth.
The little star hugged her sisters, saying that she could not do otherwise and that she accepted such a condition in order to return to the poor child.
She folded her ray-wings and in an instant slipped from the heavenly heights to the distant blue planet Earth.
At the same time, it was winter on Earth, and everything was wrapped in white, white snow. We were celebrating Christmas. People dressed up in amazing costumes were singing along the streets. They carried Christmas stars decorated with bright ribbons on colorful poles in front of them. There was a lot of fun, songs and music. Only in a small house on the edge of the village, a little girl sat by the window and looked longingly at the street, at cheerful adults and children. There was a modest Christmas star made by a girl by the bed.
The baby's mother came into the room.
"We won't be bored on a night like this," she said. - Let's make a wish together, let's look at the sky together, where your favorite star has settled. And then what we order will surely come true.
And they raised their eyes to the distant starry firmament. At the same moment, a thin trail of a shooting star slid across the sky.
– This is a good sign, - the mother kissed her daughter and, sighing sadly, went into the next room.
As soon as the baby was left alone, a barely noticeable ray slid through the glass on her palm. The girl immediately realized who had returned to her from the sky.
Immediately, a quiet voice sounded:
"I'm back, and I'll never leave you again." When I was flying to earth, I heard your and your mother's wish for you to be healthy. I promise that everything will be like this – I will always be by your side and will protect you as best I can. And I'm going to live here.
And the star deftly jumped off the baby's palms and dived into the Christmas star made by the girl. And immediately it shone with a barely noticeable blue light.
When the mother entered her daughter's room again, she saw that a cheerful and healthy child was dancing there with a shining Christmas star in his hands.
"Mommy, honey," she said to the baby through tears of joy, "let's get dressed as soon as possible!" And outside! Celebrate Christmas carols with everyone!