A happy family. (8+)
Joy, Love, Diligence*, Laziness and Boredom settled in one big house. It just so happened. Joy was the first to jump up early in the morning. She ran around the house with joyful exclamations, ‘What a joy! The morning has dawned bright and sunny!’
If it was raining, Joy was happy about the rain. In winter, she was happy about the snow. Sitting down at the table in the morning, she was happy that for breakfast there was buckwheat, pearl barley porridge, or delicious potatoes. During the day, she was happy about the day, in the evening - about the evening. Going to bed, she was happy that, finally, the joyful day was over, and it was time to go to bed, because tomorrow the day would come again, and it would be as joyful as the day before. No one and nothing could wreck it all for Joy.
Diligence, on the other hand, worked from morning till evening tirelessly. It got up earlier than everyone else, cooked breakfast in the morning, for lunch she cooked lunch, and obviously for dinner she cooked dinner. After breakfast, lunch and dinner Diligence washed the dishes, then she went on cleaning the rooms, the yard and the kitchen. Put it shortly, Diligence was running round in small circles, and she was doing it really fast. But Diligence was quite satisfied with the rhythm of life.
The next comes Love. Love lived in eternal affection. She looked at the world and at those who were passionate about love. Love, when meeting Joy, hugged her and said, ‘You are a sight for my sore eyes, Joy!’ In the morning, meeting Diligence, Love said to her, ‘My precious Diligence, I want to help you, and took on the hardest and dirtiest work. And she did everything with love, because she loved Diligence very much for her studiousness.
As we remember, Laziness also lived in the house. Joy, Love and Diligence somehow ignored her for the time being. They ignored her and that's it! And all because she always lay on the couch, and she was neither heard nor seen. But something happened in the house that Love suddenly paid attention to Laziness.
She thought to herself, ‘I love Joy and Diligence, but how can we continue rejoicing when the most slothful Laziness lives next to us.’
Love came up to Laziness and said lovingly, ‘Darling, you look so gorgeous today!’
‘Huh?!’ Laziness woke up, ‘Are you talking to me?’
‘Yes, yes! I hope, I got the right person. Is it you, Laziness?’
‘Probably me,’ Laziness answered, not knowing what else to say.
‘May I ask you for help?’ Love kindly addressed Laziness. Laziness half-rose from the sofa and got wide-eyed all over the face. And her mouth almost fell off. Laziness barely managed to hold it in. She was knocked down with a feather’.
‘Can you imagine, I bought a chandelier in a store yesterday. I liked it at first sight! It is so beautiful. Could you give me a hand in hanging it? I want it to light the room for everyone from now on: for Joy, for Diligence, for me, for you,’ Love said in a voice full of tenderness and affection. Laziness could hardly breathe with surprise and delight. She took a deep breath and was unable to exhale. The thought immediately came to mind, ‘When was the last time someone spoke to her so kindly? Probably only in her distant childhood,’ Laziness immediately recalled her mother, grandmother, aunt... everyone who loved her.
The memories warmed her soul and heart. She didn't want to come back to reality from childhood, not even in her thoughts.
Love put a folding ladder right in front of the old chandelier and asked Laziness in a gentle voice, ‘Please, climb the ladder,’. Laziness was too lazy to think about why she needed to climb the ladder, but the voice asking for it was so enchantingly pleasant. She climbed up the ladder not merely to climb, but to hear that voice again and again. She would follow it to the end of the world.
When Laziness climbed to the very top, the voice tenderly asked her to take down the old chandelier. Laziness, as if mesmerized, obeyed Love. The old chandelier was safely removed from the ceiling. Then the same gentle voice asked Laziness to hang a new chandelier. Laziness had to work hard here. Previously, she wouldn't bother with any wires or rack her brains. But, here is LOVE!!! For the sake of love, any laziness will try its best to be lazy, be extremely lazy, but will do anything she is asked to do.
And here it is, the chandelier hanging down from the ceiling. Love pressed the switch with her enchanting little hand and the chandelier lit up and began to sparkle. Everyone became happier: Joy, Diligence, and Laziness, of course. Quite unexpectedly, Love tenderly hugged Laziness and kissed her. Laziness almost fell to the floor, because her eyes went cloudy with joy and happiness.
Then, Laziness and Love nailed up the shelves, vacuumed the carpets, wiped the dust everywhere. They worked all day. But if an onlooker saw that wonderful couple, it would have seemed to everyone that only Laziness was working, and Love was simply admiring Laziness's work. And why not? After all, Laziness really liked it.
Diligence treated everyone with borscht, porridge, pies and salads all day long.
And Boredom, as always, was bored all day long. One can’t say she did nothing, it was just that she found it boring and uninteresting to do anything.
By nightfall, everyone was tired: Joy was tired from pleasure, Diligence from righteous labors, Love and Laziness from the daily chores that they did with affection, and Boredom from monotony.
The Moon was already shining outside the window, the stars appeared to twinkle one after another, and in the house they turned off the most beautiful and favorite chandelier and went to bed.
In the morning, the hustle and bustle started again. Joy woke everyone up with joyful exclamations. Diligence hurried to the kitchen to cook breakfast for everyone. Laziness hurried to greet Love. Only Love was in no hurry to say hello to Laziness that morning. She had one thing to do, and it was very important for her.
Love called Joy aside and said to her, ‘This is not right! You are happy, Diligence is working, Laziness and I are busy around the house, and Boredom is bored. We need to help her!
‘How can I help her?!’ Joy exclaimed with joy.
‘And what are you most happy about?’ Love asked her.
‘I am happy about anything. Right now, I am happy about our communication!’ Joy jumped up and down joyfully.
‘My dear Joy, my sweet heart! Are you happy when you see the sour, dissatisfied look of Boredom?’ Love persisted.
‘But can't you help Boredom yourself? You helped Laziness after all!’ Joy made a carefree face.
‘My dear Joy! I can't always help. I am very sad, but I do not like being bored and I can’t do anything about it. Please help us all. For the love, joy and happiness of our big family,’ Love was begging her lovely Joy.
‘Well, if only for the sake of us all! After all, I will not be happy if I do not help,’ Joy gave in, - and ran skippingly towards Boredom, who was lazily lying on the sofa that Laziness had previously occupied. For some reason Boredom was looking at the ceiling. Maybe there was something there that no one saw? Maybe looking at the ceiling is very interesting? Joy thought that she should try lying on the sofa and look at the ceiling. Maybe she would see something interesting and joyful on the ceiling?
‘Where should I start saving Boredom from dullness?’ Joy thought for a moment. ‘The task, however, is not easy,’ Joy sighed. She came up to Boredom and gently ruffled her hair.
‘What are you doing?’ Joy asked cheerfully.
Boredom looked at Joy in surprise: what was she happy about? Boredom couldn’t think of any reason for joy. Everything was the same as before - the walls, the ceiling... She was already tired of everything - the same thing every day: breakfast, lunch, dinner. She had tried all the dishes, she was sick and tired of the TV. She had read all the books. It’s a mere dullness! And she did not want to talk about anything anymore.
With dullness in her voice, she said, ‘I am doing nothing.’
Joy laughed.
‘What are you laughing at?’ Boredom was surprised.
‘Is it really possible to do "nothing"?!’ Joy became cheerful.
‘That's strange! You are amused by the word "nothing", but what if I show you a finger?’ and she stuck her finger right under the nose of laughing Joy.
Joy burst into laughter. She laughed so hard that even the walls of the house shook from her laughter. A smile appeared on Boredom's face for the first time. A minute later Boredom burst into uncontrollable laughter. She laughed at Joy and at her joyfulness. Joy said through her laughter, ’Let’s go for a walk?’
‘Why not?’ Boredom agreed. And they ran off to Joy's friends, of whom she had many. Joy had a lot of friends in every country, in every city, on every street, in every house.
So what can we say in conclusion of our story? Love overcame Laziness, Joy overcame Boredom, and Diligence does not need to overcome anyone, because it has long been two-in-one: ‘love for labor’, that is, labor with love or love for labor. Any order is OK!
And our friendly family has lived happily ever after, because everyone in that family knew how to love, work, and enjoy life.
Joy, Love, Diligence*, Laziness and Boredom settled in one big house. It just so happened. Joy was the first to jump up early in the morning. She ran around the house with joyful exclamations, ‘What a joy! The morning has dawned bright and sunny!’
If it was raining, Joy was happy about the rain. In winter, she was happy about the snow. Sitting down at the table in the morning, she was happy that for breakfast there was buckwheat, pearl barley porridge, or delicious potatoes. During the day, she was happy about the day, in the evening - about the evening. Going to bed, she was happy that, finally, the joyful day was over, and it was time to go to bed, because tomorrow the day would come again, and it would be as joyful as the day before. No one and nothing could wreck it all for Joy.
Diligence, on the other hand, worked from morning till evening tirelessly. It got up earlier than everyone else, cooked breakfast in the morning, for lunch she cooked lunch, and obviously for dinner she cooked dinner. After breakfast, lunch and dinner Diligence washed the dishes, then she went on cleaning the rooms, the yard and the kitchen. Put it shortly, Diligence was running round in small circles, and she was doing it really fast. But Diligence was quite satisfied with the rhythm of life.
The next comes Love. Love lived in eternal affection. She looked at the world and at those who were passionate about love. Love, when meeting Joy, hugged her and said, ‘You are a sight for my sore eyes, Joy!’ In the morning, meeting Diligence, Love said to her, ‘My precious Diligence, I want to help you, and took on the hardest and dirtiest work. And she did everything with love, because she loved Diligence very much for her studiousness.
As we remember, Laziness also lived in the house. Joy, Love and Diligence somehow ignored her for the time being. They ignored her and that's it! And all because she always lay on the couch, and she was neither heard nor seen. But something happened in the house that Love suddenly paid attention to Laziness.
She thought to herself, ‘I love Joy and Diligence, but how can we continue rejoicing when the most slothful Laziness lives next to us.’
Love came up to Laziness and said lovingly, ‘Darling, you look so gorgeous today!’
‘Huh?!’ Laziness woke up, ‘Are you talking to me?’
‘Yes, yes! I hope, I got the right person. Is it you, Laziness?’
‘Probably me,’ Laziness answered, not knowing what else to say.
‘May I ask you for help?’ Love kindly addressed Laziness. Laziness half-rose from the sofa and got wide-eyed all over the face. And her mouth almost fell off. Laziness barely managed to hold it in. She was knocked down with a feather’.
‘Can you imagine, I bought a chandelier in a store yesterday. I liked it at first sight! It is so beautiful. Could you give me a hand in hanging it? I want it to light the room for everyone from now on: for Joy, for Diligence, for me, for you,’ Love said in a voice full of tenderness and affection. Laziness could hardly breathe with surprise and delight. She took a deep breath and was unable to exhale. The thought immediately came to mind, ‘When was the last time someone spoke to her so kindly? Probably only in her distant childhood,’ Laziness immediately recalled her mother, grandmother, aunt... everyone who loved her.
The memories warmed her soul and heart. She didn't want to come back to reality from childhood, not even in her thoughts.
Love put a folding ladder right in front of the old chandelier and asked Laziness in a gentle voice, ‘Please, climb the ladder,’. Laziness was too lazy to think about why she needed to climb the ladder, but the voice asking for it was so enchantingly pleasant. She climbed up the ladder not merely to climb, but to hear that voice again and again. She would follow it to the end of the world.
When Laziness climbed to the very top, the voice tenderly asked her to take down the old chandelier. Laziness, as if mesmerized, obeyed Love. The old chandelier was safely removed from the ceiling. Then the same gentle voice asked Laziness to hang a new chandelier. Laziness had to work hard here. Previously, she wouldn't bother with any wires or rack her brains. But, here is LOVE!!! For the sake of love, any laziness will try its best to be lazy, be extremely lazy, but will do anything she is asked to do.
And here it is, the chandelier hanging down from the ceiling. Love pressed the switch with her enchanting little hand and the chandelier lit up and began to sparkle. Everyone became happier: Joy, Diligence, and Laziness, of course. Quite unexpectedly, Love tenderly hugged Laziness and kissed her. Laziness almost fell to the floor, because her eyes went cloudy with joy and happiness.
Then, Laziness and Love nailed up the shelves, vacuumed the carpets, wiped the dust everywhere. They worked all day. But if an onlooker saw that wonderful couple, it would have seemed to everyone that only Laziness was working, and Love was simply admiring Laziness's work. And why not? After all, Laziness really liked it.
Diligence treated everyone with borscht, porridge, pies and salads all day long.
And Boredom, as always, was bored all day long. One can’t say she did nothing, it was just that she found it boring and uninteresting to do anything.
By nightfall, everyone was tired: Joy was tired from pleasure, Diligence from righteous labors, Love and Laziness from the daily chores that they did with affection, and Boredom from monotony.
The Moon was already shining outside the window, the stars appeared to twinkle one after another, and in the house they turned off the most beautiful and favorite chandelier and went to bed.
In the morning, the hustle and bustle started again. Joy woke everyone up with joyful exclamations. Diligence hurried to the kitchen to cook breakfast for everyone. Laziness hurried to greet Love. Only Love was in no hurry to say hello to Laziness that morning. She had one thing to do, and it was very important for her.
Love called Joy aside and said to her, ‘This is not right! You are happy, Diligence is working, Laziness and I are busy around the house, and Boredom is bored. We need to help her!
‘How can I help her?!’ Joy exclaimed with joy.
‘And what are you most happy about?’ Love asked her.
‘I am happy about anything. Right now, I am happy about our communication!’ Joy jumped up and down joyfully.
‘My dear Joy, my sweet heart! Are you happy when you see the sour, dissatisfied look of Boredom?’ Love persisted.
‘But can't you help Boredom yourself? You helped Laziness after all!’ Joy made a carefree face.
‘My dear Joy! I can't always help. I am very sad, but I do not like being bored and I can’t do anything about it. Please help us all. For the love, joy and happiness of our big family,’ Love was begging her lovely Joy.
‘Well, if only for the sake of us all! After all, I will not be happy if I do not help,’ Joy gave in, - and ran skippingly towards Boredom, who was lazily lying on the sofa that Laziness had previously occupied. For some reason Boredom was looking at the ceiling. Maybe there was something there that no one saw? Maybe looking at the ceiling is very interesting? Joy thought that she should try lying on the sofa and look at the ceiling. Maybe she would see something interesting and joyful on the ceiling?
‘Where should I start saving Boredom from dullness?’ Joy thought for a moment. ‘The task, however, is not easy,’ Joy sighed. She came up to Boredom and gently ruffled her hair.
‘What are you doing?’ Joy asked cheerfully.
Boredom looked at Joy in surprise: what was she happy about? Boredom couldn’t think of any reason for joy. Everything was the same as before - the walls, the ceiling... She was already tired of everything - the same thing every day: breakfast, lunch, dinner. She had tried all the dishes, she was sick and tired of the TV. She had read all the books. It’s a mere dullness! And she did not want to talk about anything anymore.
With dullness in her voice, she said, ‘I am doing nothing.’
Joy laughed.
‘What are you laughing at?’ Boredom was surprised.
‘Is it really possible to do "nothing"?!’ Joy became cheerful.
‘That's strange! You are amused by the word "nothing", but what if I show you a finger?’ and she stuck her finger right under the nose of laughing Joy.
Joy burst into laughter. She laughed so hard that even the walls of the house shook from her laughter. A smile appeared on Boredom's face for the first time. A minute later Boredom burst into uncontrollable laughter. She laughed at Joy and at her joyfulness. Joy said through her laughter, ’Let’s go for a walk?’
‘Why not?’ Boredom agreed. And they ran off to Joy's friends, of whom she had many. Joy had a lot of friends in every country, in every city, on every street, in every house.
So what can we say in conclusion of our story? Love overcame Laziness, Joy overcame Boredom, and Diligence does not need to overcome anyone, because it has long been two-in-one: ‘love for labor’, that is, labor with love or love for labor. Any order is OK!
And our friendly family has lived happily ever after, because everyone in that family knew how to love, work, and enjoy life.