Children's Christmas stories. Cautionary tale “On Christmas Eve. Sven Nordqvist "Christmas Porridge"

The Christmas holidays came, and all the children were waiting for gifts under the Christmas tree. But Misha was the only one who was not happy about the coming of New Year and Christmas. He was sure that they would not give him a gift. After all, he behaved badly all year. He did not sleep in kindergarten, did not always listen to the teacher, did not finish the soup, and generally ate only one spoonful of tasteless milk porridge. The fairy tale of Christmas was coming for everyone. Reading about the holidays and hearing about them from everyone around was real torment for Misha. He couldn't wait for all this to pass and for spring to come.

A Tale of Christmas: read online about how Misha met the Snow Maiden

On the eve of Christmas, Misha was completely desperate. Mom asked him to help prepare holiday dishes, but he answered her rudely and did not want to take part in the general celebration. Dad asked me to clean up the room. But Misha watched cartoons and littered even more. The closer Christmas got, the sadder the baby was. Then my sister decided to send Misha to the store to buy juice. It was not far to go, Misha was already allowed to go to the store himself, and he was always happy to have the opportunity to go outside. Now even going outside did not make him happy. But still Misha put on a hat, scarf, jacket and boots. And then he slowly walked into the store. He decided to do everything slowly so that he would be at home less and make the whole family nervous.

Near the store, Misha decided to make a few circles around in order to linger even longer. He walked behind the store building and found himself in a beautiful snowy meadow. He had never seen anything like it before. There was a beautiful snowman built on it, and there were also several ice sculptures. Misha walked up to one of the ice statues and peered at it for a long time. She was incredibly beautiful and you could admire her beauty for ages.
“How beautiful,” the boy said out loud. At this moment, the statue suddenly answered him.
- Thank you. – and then the ringing laughter of the statue was heard.
Misha was scared, but then he realized that it was some girl who froze in the pose of an ice sculpture and was just playing a prank on him. Although it was very surprising how she managed to become so much like ice.
- How did you do this? – Misha asked, having cooled down a little.
- It's a secret. Grandfather doesn't allow me to tell anyone.
- I won't tell anyone. Believe me. After all, I don’t want to talk to anyone because of these New Year holidays.
- Why are you happy about the holidays? All the children are very happy.
- Because I still won’t receive a gift.
- How so?
— The teachers called me a bad child. I ate poorly in the garden, slept little, and did not always listen in class. And I didn’t eat milk porridge at all. I don't deserve a gift.


- Against! – the girl objected. – You defended your position and did not betray your tastes. You don’t like milk porridge, so don’t choke on it, harming yourself? I would do exactly the same if I were you. But forcing children to eat is definitely bad behavior. Who will not receive gifts from your grandfather are your teachers.
- How do you know?
- Because I... Because I... Snow Maiden. - said the girl. Misha immediately understood everything. That's why the girl managed to be invisible among the ice sculptures. “And now I need to run.” Help grandfather. But you promise not to tell anyone about me?
- I promise! - said Misha.
He bought juice and quickly returned home. He apologized for taking so long to go to the store. Helped mom cut salads. Cleaned up my room. And he began to wait. The Christmas fairy tale was becoming a reality. A little more and the chimes will strike. A miracle will happen - the Birth of Jesus Christ. And all good children will receive gifts. Finally the clock struck, and Misha saw gifts under the tree. The Snow Maiden was right. Misha was a wonderful child, although he did not eat porridge, slept little and was sometimes capricious.

We have created more than 300 cat-free casseroles on the Dobranich website. Pragnemo perevoriti zvichaine vladannya spati u native ritual, spovveneni turboti ta tepla.Would you like to support our project? We will continue to write for you with renewed vigor!

There is very little left before the start of the long New Year holidays, but you have work, preparation for the holidays, choosing gifts and absolutely no time to relax? Or maybe there isn’t that “New Year’s mood” that everyone talks about so much?

Don't be sad! We have selected short stories and novellas by your favorite authors for you, which will improve your mood and will not take up much time. Read on the run and enjoy the New Year and Christmas!

Gifts of the Magi. O.Henry

14 minutes

Readers know this story almost by heart, but still remember it on Christmas Eve year after year. The story of two “stupid children” who sacrificed their most precious things for each other has inspired us for more than a century. Its moral is this: no matter how poor you are, love makes you both rich and happy.

New Year's holiday of father and little daughter. Alexander Green

11 minutes

A very short and bright story about a man who spent the best years of his life on some kind of work unknown to the reader and did not notice how his daughter grew up.

In “New Year's Holiday...” one feels the coldness and hopelessness that the author himself experienced in an unheated St. Petersburg room in the terrible year 1922, but there is also that warmth that only close people can give. In the case of Green's hero, this is his daughter Tavinia Drap, and in the case of the writer himself, his wife Nina Mironova.

Angel. Leonid Andreev

25 minutes

Sasha is a thirteen-year-old teenager from a poor family, eccentric, embittered, accustomed to enduring beatings and insults. On Christmas Eve, he is invited to a Christmas party in a rich house, where the boy is surrounded by the clean and happy children of the owners. In addition to this, he sees his father's first love.

But on Christmas, as we remember, miracles happen, and Sasha’s heart, which was still squeezed by an iron vice, melts when he looks at the toy angel. In an instant, his usual rudeness, hostility and callousness disappear.

Christmas tree. Tove Jansson

15 minutes

A charming story about the unknown to science, but so beloved Moomintrolls. This time Tove Jansson described how a family familiar to readers celebrated Christmas. Not knowing what it is and how it is celebrated, the Moomin family managed to arrange a real holiday with a Christmas tree and gifts for whips (even more mysterious animals).

The story, of course, is for children, but adults will also enjoy re-reading it on New Year’s Eve.

Anniversary. Narine Abgaryan

20 minutes

A realistic story, devoid of even a hint of magic, nevertheless leads to the most joyful New Year's thoughts. "Anniversary" is a story of friendship, old and new, breaking with an unpleasant past and hoping to fulfill all the promises made with the advent of the New Year.

Christmas Eve . Nikolay Gogol

1 hour, 20 minutes

Both adults and children know that the blacksmith Vakula, for the sake of Oksana’s slippers, had to make a deal with the devil himself. “The Night Before Christmas” is the brightest, funniest and most atmospheric thing in Gogol’s cycle “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka”, so don’t consider it difficult, set aside an hour and a half for the pleasure of spending time with your favorite characters.

Not just for Christmas. Heinrich Böll

30 minutes

A fly in the ointment: a satirical story about how Christmas suddenly became a daily unbearable torture. At the same time, the whole essence of the holiday, its religious and moral overtones, came to naught because of people’s love for “tinsel.” A masterpiece from Nobel Prize winner in literature Heinrich Böll.

Christmas story “Dreams come true”

Once upon a time there was a family. The most ordinary one, like all families. Mom, dad and two daughters and a little son. The children loved winter very much. They enjoyed playing in the snow and sledding down the hills. making various trinkets with your own hands. But most of all the children liked New Year and Christmas, when Santa Claus gives gifts and makes their dreams come true.

Winter came. They began to wait for the New Year and Christmas. The children really wanted to receive gifts from the old man - the wizard and decided to write him a letter. In it they asked Santa Claus for strawberries.

When the Christmas tree lit up with colorful lights, everyone felt happy and festive. The children put the letter under the Christmas tree, but did not even notice when Grandfather Frost took it away. He always appears and disappears unnoticed. mysterious and magical!

Stories about Christmas by L. Charskaya, E. Ivanovskaya.

Interesting and educational Christmas stories for children of primary and secondary school age.

The Legend of the First Christmas Tree

When little Christ was born, and the Virgin Mary, having swaddled Him, laid Him in a simple manger on the hay, Angels flew from heaven to look at Him. Seeing how simple and wretched the cave and manger were, they quietly whispered to each other:

- Does he sleep in a cave in a simple manger? No, you can't do that! It is necessary to decorate the cave: let it be as beautiful and elegant as possible - after all, Christ Himself sleeps in it!

And so one Angel flew to the south to look for something to decorate the cave with. It's always warm in the south, and beautiful flowers are always blooming. And so the Angel picked many roses as red as the dawn; lilies, white as snow; cheerful colorful hyacinths, azaleas; picked tender mimosas, magnolias, camellias; He also picked several large yellow lotuses... And he brought all these flowers to the cave.

Another Angel flew north. But it was winter there at that time. The fields and forests are covered with a heavy blanket of snow. And the Angel, not finding any flowers, wanted to fly back. Suddenly he saw a sad green tree among the snow, thought and whispered:

“Perhaps it’s okay that this tree is so simple.” Let it, the only one of all the plants of the north, look at little Christ.

And he took with him a modest northern Christmas tree. How beautiful and elegant it became in the cave when the walls, floor and manger were decorated with flowers! The flowers looked curiously into the manger where Christ slept and whispered to each other:

- Shh!.. Hush! He fell asleep!

The little Christmas tree saw such beautiful flowers for the first time and was saddened.

“Oh,” she said sadly, “why am I so ugly and simple?” How happy all these wonderful flowers must be! But I have nothing to wear myself on such a holiday, nothing to decorate the cave with...

And she cried bitterly.

When the Virgin Mary saw this, She felt sorry for the tree. And She thought: “Everyone should be happy on this day, this Christmas tree shouldn’t be sad.”

She smiled and made a sign with her hand. And then a miracle happened: a bright star quietly descended from the sky and adorned the top of the tree. And others followed her and decorated the remaining branches. How suddenly it became light and cheerful in the cave! Little Christ, who was sleeping in the manger, woke up from the bright light and, smiling, reached out to the Christmas tree sparkling with lights.

And the flowers looked at her in surprise and whispered to each other:

- Oh, how pretty she has become! Isn't it true that she is more beautiful than all of us?

And the Christmas tree felt quite happy. Since then, people decorate Christmas trees for little children every year in memory of the first tree - the one that was decorated with real stars from the sky.

In a dense forest stands a beautiful, lush, young Christmas tree... Neighboring friends look at it with envy: “Who was such a beauty born into?..” The friends do not notice that a disgusting, ugly branch has grown at the very root of the Christmas tree, which is very spoiling elegant young Christmas tree. But the Christmas tree itself knows about this branch, moreover, it hates it and grieves and complains about fate in every possible way: why did it reward it with such an ugly branch - a slender, pretty, young Christmas tree?

Christmas Eve has arrived. In the morning, Santa Claus decorated the Christmas trees with a lush snowy veil, covered them with frost - and they stand decorated like brides, standing and waiting... After all, today is a great day for Christmas trees... Today people will come to the forest to pick them up. They will cut down the Christmas trees, take them to the big city to the market... And there they will start buying Christmas trees as gifts for children.

And the beautiful Christmas tree is waiting for her fate... She can’t wait, is there something waiting for her?

The runners creaked and heavy peasant sleighs appeared. A man in a warm sheepskin coat came out of them, with an ax tucked into his belt, walked up to the Christmas tree and hit its slender trunk with all his might with the ax.

The Christmas tree sighed quietly and sank heavily to the ground, rustling its green branches.

- Wonderful tree! - said the old footman Ignat, looking from all sides at the beautiful Christmas tree that he had just bought at the market on behalf of the owner, a rich prince, for the little princess.

- Noble Christmas tree! - he said.

And suddenly his eyes stopped on a gnarled twig, sticking out quite inappropriately at the side of our beauty.

- We need to level the tree! - said Ignat, and in one minute he swung away a gnarled branch with an ax and threw it to the side.

The beautiful Christmas tree sighed with relief.

Thank God, she was freed from the ugly branch that so spoiled her fabulous beauty, now she is quite pleased with herself...

Lackey Ignat once again carefully examined the Christmas tree from all sides and carried it upstairs - to the huge and luxuriously furnished princely apartment.

In the elegant living room, the Christmas tree was surrounded on all sides, and within an hour it was transformed. Countless candles shone on its branches... Expensive bonbonnieres*, golden stars, multi-colored balls, elegant trinkets and sweets decorated it from top to bottom.

When the last decoration—silver and golden rain—streamed along the green needles of the Christmas tree, the doors of the hall swung open and a lovely girl ran into the room.

The Christmas tree expected that the little princess would clasp her hands at the sight of such a beauty, and would jump and gallop in delight at the sight of a lush tree.

But the pretty princess only glanced briefly at the tree and said, pouting her lips slightly:

-Where is the doll? I asked dad so much that he give me a talking doll, like Cousin Lily’s. Only the Christmas tree is boring... you can’t play with it, but I have enough sweets and toys without it!..

Suddenly the pretty princess's gaze fell on an expensive doll sitting under the Christmas tree...

- Ah! - the girl cried joyfully, - this is wonderful! Dear dad! He thought about me. What a lovely doll. My darling!

And the little princess kissed the doll, completely forgetting about the Christmas tree.

The beautiful Christmas tree was perplexed.

After all, the ugly branch that had so disgraced her was chopped off. Why didn’t she - a lush, green-haired beauty - cause delight in the little princess?

And the gnarled branch lay in the yard until a thin, poor woman, exhausted from everyday hard work, approached him...

- God! No branch from the Christmas tree! - she cried, quickly bending over the gnarled branch.

She carefully picked it up from the ground, as if it were not a gnarled twig, but some kind of precious thing, and, carefully covering it with a scarf, she carried it to the basement, where she rented a tiny closet.

In the closet, on a shabby bed, covered with an old cotton blanket, lay a sick child. He was in oblivion and did not hear his mother enter with a Christmas tree branch in her hands.

The poor woman found a bottle in the corner and stuck a gnarled Christmas tree branch into it. Then she took out the wax cinders kept in her shrine, which she had brought from the church at different times, carefully attached them to a thorny branch and lit them.

The Christmas tree lit up with welcoming lights, spreading the pleasant smell of pine needles around it.

The child suddenly opened his eyes... Joy shone in the depths of his pure, childish gaze... He stretched out his emaciated little hands to the tree and whispered, all beaming with happiness:

- She's so sweet! What a nice Christmas tree! Thank you, my dear mother, for her... I somehow felt better when I saw the cute lit tree.

And he stretched out his little hands to the gnarled twig, and the gnarled twig blinked and smiled at him with all its joyful lights. The gnarled bitch didn’t know that he brought so much joy to the poor patient on a bright Christmas Eve.

* Bonbonniere - a box for sweets. (Ed.)

- Give me alms, for Christ's sake! Give alms, for Christ's sake!..

No one heard these plaintive words, no one paid attention to the tears that sounded in the words of a poorly dressed woman standing alone on the corner of a busy city street.

- Give me some alms!

Passers-by hurriedly walked past her, carriages rushed noisily along the snowy road. Laughter and animated conversation could be heard all around.

The holy, great night of the Nativity of Christ fell to earth. It shone like stars and shrouded the city in a mysterious haze.

“I’m asking for alms not for myself, but for my children...” The woman’s voice suddenly broke off, and she began to cry quietly. Trembling under her rags, she wiped away her tears with numb fingers, but they again flowed down her emaciated cheeks. Nobody cared about her...

Yes, she didn’t even think about herself, that she was completely cold, that she hadn’t eaten a crumb since the morning. Her whole thought belonged to the children, her heart ached for them.

They sit, poor things, there, in a cold, dark kennel, hungry, frozen, and wait for her. What will she bring or what will she say? Tomorrow is a great holiday, all the children have fun, but her poor children are hungry and unhappy.

What should she do? What to do? Lately she had been working as hard as she could, straining her last strength. Then she fell ill and lost her last job. The holiday approached, she had nowhere to get a piece of bread.

For the sake of the children, she decided, for the first time in her life, to beg. The hand did not rise, the tongue did not turn. But the thought that her children were hungry, that they would celebrate the holiday hungry and unhappy - this thought tormented her. She was ready for anything. And in a few hours she managed to collect a few kopecks.

“Give alms, good people! Give it to me, for Christ’s sake!”

And as if in response to her despair, the bell for the all-night vigil was heard nearby. Yes, we need to go pray. Perhaps prayer will ease her soul. She will pray earnestly for them, for the children. With unsteady steps she made her way to the church.

The temple is illuminated, filled with lights. There are a lot of people everywhere, everyone has cheerful, happy faces. Hiding in a corner, she fell to her knees and froze. All the boundless, maternal love, all her grief for the children poured out in fervent prayer, in dull, mournful sobs. "God help me! Help! - she cries. And who, if not the Lord, Patron and Protector of the weak and unfortunate, should pour out all his grief, all his mental pain to her? She prayed quietly in the corner, and tears streamed down her pale face.

She did not notice how the all-night vigil ended, did not see how anyone approached her.

-What are you crying about? - a gentle voice came from behind her.

She woke up, raised her eyes and saw in front of her a small, richly dressed girl. Clear children's eyes looked at her with sweet sympathy. Behind the girl stood an old nanny.

-Are you in trouble? Yes? Poor you, poor you! “These words, spoken in a gentle, childish voice, deeply touched her.

- Woe! My kids are hungry; they haven’t eaten since morning. Tomorrow is such a great holiday...

- Didn’t you eat? Are you hungry? — Horror showed on the girl’s face. - Nanny, what is this? The children didn't eat anything! And tomorrow they will be hungry! Nanny! How is this possible?

A small child's hand slid into the muff.

- Here, take it, there is money here... how much, I don’t know... feed the children... for God’s sake... Oh, nanny, this is terrible! They didn't eat anything! Is this possible, nanny?

Large tears welled up in the girl’s eyes.

- Well, Manechka, let’s do it! They are poor! And they sit, poor people, in hunger and cold. They are waiting to see if the Lord will help them!

- Oh, nanny, I feel sorry for them! Where do you live, how many children do you have?

- My husband died - it will be about six months. There are three guys left. I couldn’t work, I was sick all the time. So I had to walk around the world with my hand. We live not far away, right here, in the basement, on the corner, in the large stone house of the merchant Osipov.

- Nanny, almost next to us, but I didn’t even know! Let's go quickly, now I know what to do!

The girl quickly left the church, accompanied by the old woman.

The poor woman mechanically followed them. In the wallet she was holding, there was a five-ruble note. Forgetting everything except that she could now warm and feed her children, she went into the store, bought provisions, bread, tea, sugar and ran home. There are still enough wood chips left to heat the stove.

She ran home as fast as she could.

Here is the dark kennel. Three childish figures rushed towards her.

- Mama! I'm hungry! Did you bring it? Dear!

She hugged all three of them.

- The Lord sent! Nadya, light the stove, Petyusha, put on the samovar! Let's warm up, let's eat, for the sake of the great holiday!

In the kennel, damp and gloomy, a holiday began. The children were cheerful, warm and chatting. The mother rejoiced at their animation and their chatter. Only occasionally did a sad thought come to mind - what next? What's next?

- Well, the Lord will not leave! - she said to herself, placing all her hope in God.

Little Nadya quietly approached her mother, pressed herself close to her and spoke.

- Tell me, mom, is it true that on Christmas night the Christmas Angel flies from the sky and brings gifts to poor children? Tell me, mom!

The boys also approached their mother. And, wanting to console the children, she began to tell them that the Lord takes care of poor children and sends them His Angel on the great Christmas night, and this Angel brings them gifts and gifts!

- And a Christmas tree, mom?

- And a Christmas tree, children, a good, shiny Christmas tree! Someone knocked on the basement door. The children rushed to open the door. A man appeared with a small green tree in his hands. Behind him was a pretty blond girl with a basket, accompanied by a nanny who was carrying various bundles and packages behind her. The children timidly clung to their mother.

- Is this an Angel, mom, is this an Angel? - they whispered quietly, looking reverently at the pretty, smart girl.

The tree had been on the floor for a long time. The old nanny untied the bags, pulled out delicious buns, pretzels, cheese, butter, eggs, and decorated the tree with candles and gifts. The children still could not come to their senses. They admired the "Angel". And they were silent, not moving from their place.

- Here you go, have a merry Christmas! - a child's voice sounded. - Happy holiday!

The girl put the basket on the table and disappeared before the children and mother came to their senses.

The “Christmas Angel” flew in, brought the children a Christmas tree, gifts, joy, and disappeared like a radiant vision.

At home, Manya’s mother was waiting, warmly hugged her and pressed her to her.

- My good girl! - she said, kissing her daughter’s happy face. “You yourself gave up the Christmas tree, the gifts and gave everything to the poor children!” You have a heart of gold! God will reward you.

Manya was left without a Christmas tree or gifts, but she was all beaming with happiness. She really looked like a Christmas Angel.

Just before Christmas, the girl’s parents went to the city for a fair. Mom, hastily getting ready, said:

- We won't be long. We'll pick out gifts for everyone and take the evening bus back!

Although Sofia did not like to be alone, today, the departure of her parents could not have come at a better time. The fact is that the little girl was making a postcard for her mom and dad for the holiday. And, drawing, knowing that at any moment they could enter the room, was inconvenient.

“Don’t worry, I’ll behave well,” Sofia promised.

Dad laughed and said that no one doubts this. After seeing her parents off, she decided to immediately get down to business. But as soon as she closed the gate, an unfamiliar girl suddenly appeared on the road. Yes, so beautiful that you can’t take your eyes off! Her snow-white fur coat shone under the rays of the bright winter sun, her boots sparkled with cleanliness, and a huge pompom dangled merrily from her knitted white hat. The girl walked and cried bitterly, wiping her tears with her sleeve.

- Are you lost? – Sofia shouted to the stranger.

“No,” the girl sobbed, “it’s just that no one wants to be friends with me!”

- What is your name? – asked Sofia.

“Envy,” she whispered.

Seeing that Sofia frowned, she hastened to add:

“Now you’re going to drive me away, but I’m actually good!” It’s just that all people confuse me with my sister, so they drive me out of the yard...

Sofia thought about it. She didn't know that envy had a sister. At least my parents never talked about it. Maybe they didn’t know?.. Meanwhile, the uninvited guest, seeing her confusion, began to ask:

- Let's be friends! Do you want me to tell you the whole truth about my sister and I, and you will see for yourself that she and I are completely different?

Sofia became curious and opened the gate. When the girls entered the house, Envy exclaimed:

- It smells so delicious here!

- These are tangerines! Mom bought three kilos!

- Why so many? – Envy was amazed, “Will you eat that much?”

Sofia laughed:

- Of course not! Guests will just come to us. My cousins ​​are Yulka and Nastenka. So we came up with the idea of ​​putting gifts for them in beautiful bags. Everyone will receive tangerines, chocolate and some other souvenir. I don't know which one yet. Parents will choose themselves at the fair... You better tell us about your sister!

Envy sighed sadly:

“I’m embarrassed to talk badly about her, but, on the other hand, I’m not lying... You see, I am White Envy, and my sister is called Black Envy.” We are often confused, but we are so different! My sister is angry and doesn’t like it when something good happens to people. For example, I am very happy if someone is given a new toy. I’m just trying to do everything so that I have the same experience. Is it bad? In my opinion, it’s very good!

Sofia shrugged. She wasn't sure if that was really a good thing. However, the girl didn’t want to quarrel with her new friend.

“Envy, I need to draw a card for mom and dad, so I don’t have time to entertain you,” said Sofia.

- I'll sit in the corner. Don't worry, I won't distract you! - the guest responded.

Soon a Nativity scene appeared on a piece of paper. The bright purple sky above him was illuminated by a slightly uneven, but large star... Sofia carefully wrote the inscription under the drawing: “Merry Christmas!” The girl almost forgot about her new friend, who modestly settled on the sidelines. The little girl folded the card and suddenly thought: “Parents don’t really know that there is Black Envy and White Envy. Oh, they would definitely allow us to be friends. After all, there is no harm from this snow-white girl. He sits quietly and doesn’t bother anyone.”

Until the evening, Envy told Sofia what gifts her friends would receive for Christmas: Masha would get a huge teddy bear, Tanya would get real skates, and for Lyudochka they bought a set of toy dishes. Porcelain! The girls chatted so much that they didn’t even hear mom and dad enter the house.

- Oh, what will happen?! Now they'll kick me out! - Envy began to fuss.

“Don’t worry,” Sofia began to reassure her, “I’ll tell my parents everything.” Let me explain that you are White!

“No, no, no,” Envy whined, “I know your parents!” When they were little, I came to them. They didn’t believe that I was good then, and they won’t believe me now. I can't get in their sight!

Sofia said sadly:

- Okay, then let me let you out through the window.

Envy began to shift from foot to foot, and then blushed and admitted:

- To be honest, I really want to see what they bought for your sisters... Can I hide under your bed? I just have to take one look and then I’ll leave!

And, without waiting for an answer, the guest quickly ducked under the bed.

- Daughter, look how beautiful it is! - Dad said, entering the nursery.

He placed two small bright boxes on the table. Sofia carefully opened one of them and gasped in delight. On a velvety pillow lay a tiny glass bell. An Angel was painted on his fragile side. The little girl immediately understood: this is the best gift in the world...

- You call! - Dad smiled.

Sofia took the souvenir by the white ribbon and shook it slightly. The sound was so gentle and clear that even my mother, running out of the kitchen, joyfully clasped her hands:

- What a curiosity our dad found! And I was already planning to buy Nastya and Yulia ordinary wooden boxes...

The second box contained exactly the same bell, only it was tied to a pink ribbon. Sofia carefully placed the gifts on the shelf, and her parents left the room, tightly closing the door behind them.

“Yeah,” Envy whispered under the bed, “they definitely didn’t buy you such a bell...

- Why? – the girl was surprised.

- Yes, because it’s unlikely that the seller had three identical ones at once! They most likely chose some mittens for you.

— Mittens are also a wonderful gift! – Sofia objected.

- Yeah, but a bell is better.

The little girl couldn't argue with that.

“Okay, don’t be upset,” said Envy, so be it, I’ll teach you how to make sure you get both of these gifts! Listen carefully and remember: you will go to your mother now and start whining. It's better to even cry. You tell her that you liked these bells so much - you don’t have the strength to part with them! Oh, the sisters will have enough tangerines with chocolate. If mom doesn't agree, then start crying louder. And don’t forget to stomp your feet!

Then Envy crawled out from under the bed and, looking carefully at Sofia, waved her hand:

- However, nothing will work out for you. You don't know how to be capricious. But that’s not a problem either. Let's take one box now and throw it on the floor. No one will even guess that we did this on purpose! But they will definitely give you the second bell! Nastya and Yulia’s parents won’t give one gift for two.

Then Sofia saw how the guest’s fur coat and boots turned black! And even the cap turned black, so now the pom-pom resembled a huge coal. Envy had already stretched out her hand towards the shelf, but Sofia grabbed her by the collar and said angrily:

- You lied to me. You don't have any sister! There is only one envy in the world - Black. You are the one who deliberately dresses up in a white fur coat to confuse people!

Envy began to break free, but Sofia held her tightly. The girl bravely opened the window and threw her out into the street. Envy fell straight into a snowdrift and floundered in it for a long time, snorting in indignation. And Sofia closed the window and began sharpening her pencils. She drew a card for mom and dad, but she didn’t have time for her sisters yet. The baby tried her best to make it, like the gifts, the most beautiful in the world...

Moms and dads are welcome

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