The Little Ray in the Little Cell
The rays came to the Sun, and began to choose their ways for the day. One ray said:
“I will now go into the court yard.”
Said another:
“I will take a stroll on Nevsky Prospect.”
Said a third:
“I will take a walk in the fields.”
Said a fourth:
“I will take a swim in the river.”
All of them had chosen good places, and were about to run off, when the Sun called them back with a shout:
“Wait a minute, children, there is still a little place left—a dark little prison cell, where sits a poor prisoner.”
All the rays said plaintively:
“It is damp in the dark little cell, it is dirty in the dark little cell, it smells badly in the dark little cell—we do not want to go into the dark little cell.”
The Sun caught hold of one little ray by the hair, and said:
“You were up to all sorts of mischief yesterday, you looked into all sorts of forbidden places, now you must stay in the dark little cell if only for five minutes.”
The poor little ray began to cry, but there was nothing left to do but to follow the Sun’s command. All sour, bad-tempered, shrunken, he remained for five minutes with the poor prisoner in the dark little prison cell. But to the poor prisoner even this was a great holiday.