Leo Tolstoy was one of the greatest Russian writers, and Tolstoy loved peace. He had written many good stories, and each story conveyed a certain moral value. Some of Tolstoy’s stories were long, and others were short. What you will read in the coming lines is one of Tolstoy’s stories, which he wrote in simple language to suit all ages.
The winter season was extremely rainy in Russia. In some villages, rain accumulated in the streets like small streams, and the sky rained a lot without stopping. There were two little girls playing in the street with rain water.
In this time that was beloved to the young ones, they were wearing clothes made of heavy fur. The little girl Malysia was playing with Akilya the older one. Malysia put her foot in the water, and there was some mud. Consequently, the water and mud scattered, and she fell on Akilya’s new dress.
Akilya tried to remove the mud from her clothes. Akilya’s mother was walking in the street at that time when she saw Akilya and slapped her. She said to her, “How did your new dress become dirty in this way?” Akilya said to her, “The water scattered on the dress because of Malysia.”
So Akilya’s mother grabbed Malysia by the hand while she was angry and slapped her two or three times on her back. Malysia began to cry loudly. Malysia’s house was close, so her mother heard her crying and came out in a hurry.
Her mother asked her why she was crying. Malysia told her what happened and said to her that Akilya’s mother had slapped her on her back. At that moment, Malysia’s mother became angry and began to speak to Akilya’s mother in a raised voice. Both of them began to speak loudly and shout, exchanging insults and curses. The shouting continued for a while.
Many other men and women participated in the dispute. Some stood in Akilya’s mother’s side, and others stood in Malysia’s mother’s side. The two groups began to discuss and engage in loud disputes. It seemed that the dispute would never end. At that moment, Akilya’s grandmother came out of the house and told the men and women to stop fighting. She completed her speech by saying that this time is pleasant for everyone, and people should not get angry with each other.
No one listened to her, and no one cared about her words. At the same time, Akilya and Malysia had completely forgotten what happened and became friends again. They moved away from the dispute and crowds and began to make paper boats and leave them in the water.
The elderly lady spoke again and said to the crowd, “Look at the children. They have forgotten the conflict and stopped fighting, started playing again, and became friends again. But you are men and women, adults and mature, yet you are still in dispute and fighting.” She completed her speech by asking everyone, “Do you not feel shame and disgrace from yourselves?” The men and women looked at the girls and felt shame, and immediately returned to their homes in silence.
The moral of the story: Children forget quickly and forgive easily, and with all innocence, they can teach elders a valuable lesson.
The story translated from the story: Children Are Wiser Than Elders