One ordinary day, friends were sitting in the yard, bored, thinking about which game to play. Just then, Aysel looked at Murad in surprise and said:
— Oh..., what's that! My friend, it looks like something fell on you.
— No way! — said Murad, — if it had, I would have felt it... You know I'm very sensitive!
— But something really did fall on you! — Aysel said, approaching Murad. She leaned over Murad's head and looked behind his ears.
— Aha, I found it! — Aysel exclaimed loudly, — it's a star! A star fell on you, my dear...
Murad said:
— What a pity, I should have made a wish.
Soon after, this news spread throughout the yard. Murad shared his joy with his friends:
— I... I... found a star! I felt it right away and told Zəhra: "Zəhra, a star fell on my head. I even feel it moving!"
Elvin approached and took the star in his hand. The star was warm and wasn't moving. But it was shining. Murad himself was also shining with joy.
— So, it's like this... — Elvin told Murad, — this is a real star! Look, it shines as soon as you touch it.
— Of course, it's a real star! — Murad replied joyfully, — after all, it fell from the sky... I think some alien lost it... Poor thing... He's probably very sad in space right now.
Murad himself became sad. He imagined a small, green alien. It was crying uncontrollably, with its antennae drooping, because it had lost its star.
— Aha! — Elvin said joyfully, — everything is clear! Murad is right. An alien lost the star. He'll probably come looking for his star soon.
Zəhra clapped her hands with joy and said:
— How wonderful! I've wanted to see an alien for a long time.
— Can I hold the star too? — Rauf asked, approaching Elvin, — I want to see how it will shine in my palm?!
— No! — Elvin said, stepping aside, — you'll drop it. Rauf, I think you should leave, after all, I want to greet the alien too.
Rauf was taken aback. Elvin looked Rauf up and down. Rauf, in turn, looked at his own clothes. He saw that he had outgrown his old clothes, his trouser legs were rolled up, and his shoelaces were untied. Also, he was wearing a straw hat on his head that looked like Aysel's nest. Elvin, hiding his eyes from Rauf, said:
— Don't you understand!... Your hat is also a bit strange... You know, these things might scare the alien away.
Aysel lost her temper:
— Please, watch your words! By the way, I gave him this hat.
Zəhra laughed loudly:
— Really? I was just saying, it looks like your old nest!
— Hey, look here! — Aysel became even more annoyed, — this isn't a bird's nest, it's a straw hat... And it's handmade! I made it myself!
— So what? — Elvin spoke up, — It doesn't suit Rauf... It's a bit strange. That's why I don't want him to greet the alien with us.
Rauf looked at the children in confusion. It felt like a dream to him. Just look, they want to keep their distance from him just because his clothes are a little different.
Nihat saw that if he didn't defend Rauf now, he would never feel good about himself. So he said:
— Are you really acting fairly?
— Oh... oh... oh... — Murad interrupted him, — the star isn't shining anymore! It went out.
Indeed, the star was no longer shining. It looked dull and cold, and had completely gone out.
— It all happened because we didn't act fairly, — Murad said, crying, — after all, you don't judge a person by their clothes, do you?!
Elvin fell into thought. He regretted his actions. Other children felt the same way, and Rauf also felt bad. He remembered that once, when he was playing a warrior game with the children, he hadn't behaved properly either.
— You should accept everyone as they are! — Elvin said quietly. He went to Rauf, held out the star to him, and smiled.
Just then, the star began to shine again. And then... and then... a very strange thing happened: the star rose from Rauf's palm into the air, it shone even brighter than before, and ascended into the sky, returning to the small, green alien.
The friends looked at the sky in amazement.
Suddenly, Murad felt happy. He thought that the small, green alien in space was probably also very happy to have found its lost star. For a moment, he even imagined he saw the alien's eyes shining with joy in the sky.
