THE LITTLE CLOUD, THE SUNSHINE, AND THE WIND OF COMFORT

Once upon a time, far, far away, beyond dense forests and high hills, there was a magical Valley of the Skies. There lived extraordinary creatures—tiny living clouds. Each cloud had its own character and mood: cheerful clouds loved to chase each other, creating fluffy tails, calm ones slowly drifted across the sky, basking under the sun's rays, and rainy clouds loved to make noise, tapping drops on the ground.

Among them lived Tuchka, a cloud with soft grey sides and a bright heart. Tuchka was quiet and thoughtful. She loved to watch the sunbeams dance on the grass and listen to the wind's songs. But sometimes, Tuchka would feel hurt. Even over small things: if someone accidentally brushed past her while playing tag, or didn’t notice her new pattern in the sky. And then, her fluffy form would become heavy and gloomy, and drops of rain would gather on her belly.

"Why don't they notice me? Why do I always feel so sad when this happens?" Tuchka wondered, gazing at the earth through the mist of her tears.

Beside Tuchka always shone the Sun. It was her best friend, kind, warm, and bright. The Sun loved to hug Tuchka with its rays, telling her stories about the Earth and helping her smile.

"Tuchka, you are so beautiful! Why don't you smile?" the Sun often said.

But when Tuchka felt hurt, even the warmth of the Sun couldn’t immediately comfort her.

One day, Tuchka became deeply hurt. All the clouds gathered to dance around the Moon, but no one invited Tuchka. She watched as her fluffy friends twirled in the silvery light, laughing and making new patterns. It hurt and felt lonely.

"They don’t need me," thought Tuchka. Her soft grey color darkened, and rain began to drip from her middle.

The next morning, when the Sun rose into the sky, it saw Tuchka looking gloomy.

"What happened, Tuchka?" it asked gently.

"No one loves me," Tuchka whispered. "No one invited me to dance."

The Sun thought for a moment. It knew that words rarely helped in such cases. So, it decided to call for the help of its old friend—the Wind of Comfort.

The Wind of Comfort came from far away. It was soft like a silk ribbon and light like morning mist. It surrounded Tuchka with its breath, whispering gently:

"Little Tuchka, don’t be sad. Every one of us gets hurt sometimes. But hurt is nothing more than a cloud that covers your heart from warmth. Let me show you how to chase it away."

"How do I do that?" asked Tuchka, surprised.

"First, you need to understand how you feel," the Wind replied. "Close your eyes and listen to yourself."

Tuchka closed her eyes. She felt a heaviness gathering in her center, and the raindrops were tapping against each other.

"I feel sadness and loneliness," she whispered.

"Excellent," said the Wind softly. "Now, let that sadness pour out. Let your rain fall."

Tuchka opened her heart, and rain poured out of her. It was soft and warm, like tears that comfort. The earth below bloomed with bright flowers, and the sky became clearer.

"How wonderful," Tuchka marveled.

"When you let go of your hurt, you cleared the space for joy," the Wind explained.

From that day on, whenever Tuchka felt hurt, she remembered the lesson of the Wind of Comfort. She closed her eyes, understood her feelings, and released them as rain or warm mist. Over time, she understood that her hurts were temporary shadows, always dispersing as soon as she wished.

Her cloud friends noticed how Tuchka had changed. They began inviting her to their games and dances, and she learned to speak about her feelings.

"I was sad when you forgot about me," she once said.

"We're sorry, Tuchka! We didn’t mean to hurt you," her friends responded.

The Sun hugged Tuchka with its rays and laughed joyfully.

"See? Now you know how to deal with hurts!"

And Tuchka smiled. Her heart became light and fluffy again, and hurt never made her feel lonely again.