It all started after Uncle Rashad bought a painting. He liked this painting as soon as he saw it. The painting was very beautiful — a small cloud against the backdrop of an endless blue sky. The cloud seemed to smile with joy, as if it were alive. So, Uncle Rashad bought it and headed home contentedly.
Just then, Murad, Aysel, and Elvin were playing in the yard. They were flying a balloon into the air. When the balloon went very high, the children saw a small cloud in the endless sky. The cloud seemed to be looking at them and smiling. It was as if it were alive.
— Look! — Elvin shouted, — It looks just like a camel! I can even see its thorny body!
— Really? — Murad spoke up and looked at the cloud in surprise, — Does it really look like a camel?
— Of course! — Elvin insisted, — Look how funny it is!
Aysel stepped aside and carefully looked at the sky from behind the tree; she didn't see any camel there. Instead, she saw a small white octopus in the endless sky. Aysel laughed. She liked that the cloud could look like both a camel and an octopus at the same time.
“Indeed, it's very interesting,” she thought to herself, “that different people can see the same thing in different ways.”
That's great! Aysel wanted to tell Elvin about it soon.
But Murad beat her to it:
— But I think this cloud looks like a turtle.
Elvin frowned and fixed his eyes on the balloon.
— It's a camel! — he said and looked at the cloud again, just in case.
— No way! — Murad said, — Now I know for sure it's a turtle — he also looked at the cloud, just in case. Just then, the balloon burst! Of course, anyone in its place would have burst from impatience.
— I told you it looks like a camel, — Elvin said, offended, — either a camel or a balloon.
— It looks like a turtle! — Murad insisted.
— That's enough! — Aysel tried to calm the children, — Let everyone see the cloud however they want.
But the children didn't listen to her. They stood face to face like two enemies, repeating their words: “camel”, “turtle”, “turtle”, “camel”.
— What's all this noise! — Little Bird grumbled, poking its head out of the nest, — Let us sleep! What are you arguing about?
Aysel answered for them:
— We're arguing about the cloud.
Little Bird perked up:
— I'll solve your problem in a minute... — Little Bird said, — So, here it is! What is a cloud? A cloud lives in the sky, — it pointed to the sky with its claw, — How are clouds formed? Clouds are formed from rain... They fly in the air!
Just then, Little Bird's voice trailed off. Then it added in surprise:
— Don't you think the cloud looks like me... the clever and beautiful Little Bird!
Elvin looked at Little Bird in amazement. Murad couldn't believe his ears. Aysel was also very surprised.
— Hold me, — Elvin almost fainted from laughing, — Did you hear? Little Bird just said it looks like a camel? I can even see it's as humped as a camel!
— I don't understand! — Little Bird said angrily, — What, don't you see, this cloud looks like me? Open your eyes, look closely... the cloud looks like me!
— Don't talk nonsense! — Elvin said, — I'd sooner believe the cloud looks like a turtle than like the clever Little Bird! ... It doesn't even look like a silly Little Bird...
The children said:
— It doesn't!
Little Bird turned away, offended. It took a blue balloon from its pocket and slowly began to inflate it. The children laughed again. Murad joked:
— It seems Little Bird wants to fly up to the sky with this balloon and take a really close look at itself, huh?
Just then, Nigar appeared in the yard. The children, laughing, told her about the cloud.
Elvin asked her:
— What do you think the cloud looks like?
Nigar scratched her head, looking a bit lost, and said:
— If we imagine the sky is a desert, then the cloud would look like a camel.
Murad agreed and immediately looked at the sky, where he saw a camel.
— If we imagine that the humps on the camel are a shell, then the cloud looks even more like a turtle.
“Well, look at that...!” — Elvin thought, because at that moment he saw a funny turtle in the sky.
Nigar:
— If you look a little to the left and imagine the sky is the sea, then the cloud would look like a real octopus.
Aysel smiled. She thought: “Nigar is indeed a clever girl!” She also thought: “If people see something in different ways, then they are all right!”
— And doesn't this cloud look like our Little Bird? — Aysel asked, expecting a positive answer.
After a short pause, Nigar looked at Little Bird regretfully and said:
— No! It doesn't look like our Little Bird at all! But maybe someday another cloud will definitely look like it...
Suddenly, Little Bird, along with the balloon it was inflating, rose into the air and stopped level with the cloud. At that moment, everyone saw that the cloud looked like Little Bird.
Aysel looked at Little Bird with admiration and thought:
— This is a real miracle! No one should be offended for thinking differently! After all, everyone looks at the world through their own eyes! ... And it's so much more interesting this way! Because if everyone thought the same way, everything would be boring!
At that moment, Uncle Rashad appeared in the yard. He smiled contentedly and showed the children the painting in his hand.
— Look! — he said, — I bought it very cheaply! What a beautiful cloud, isn't it? I think it looks a bit like an elephant.
The children laughed.
— Ha! — he said joyfully, — The cloud looks like an elephant! And it also looks like a camel. What do you think?
— That's right! — The children answered in chorus, — Besides that, it also looks like a turtle, an octopus, and Little Bird.
— Excellent! — Uncle Rashad rejoiced, — So it turns out I bought several for the price of one painting... I got a good deal!
