Brief summary of the tale
The happy hippo enjoyed his swim and basked in the sun. The poor guy was stunned by an announcement on the beach calling on all vacationers to get vaccinated against jaundice. Marabou's friend tried to persuade Hippopotamus, as a child, to go to the clinic for vaccination. The doctor was surprised to see the patient white with fear. While the doctor was picking up the largest needle, the little coward ran away. The next morning he was hospitalized because Hippo turned yellow. Marabou came to visit the sick man. He saw his friend, red with shame. You can read the fairy tale online in full on our website.
Fairy tales for children who are afraid of injections and vaccinations
Fairy tales for children who are afraid of injections and vaccinations
In ancient times, or maybe not very long ago, there was a small fairy-tale island on the sea-ocean. A beautiful, fabulously beautiful forest grew on it. And in that forest lived kind and cheerful elves. These little creatures with wings lovingly watched and looked after the forest - their home. And the most important defender of the forest was the small, but very strong and resilient elf Fly.
The inhabitants of the island had one secret: in the forest, in the thicket, the gargoyle Aya had lived for more than a hundred years. One day, fleeing from evil goblins, weak and wounded, she flew to the elves on the island. The evil goblins were jealous of the magical power of the gargoyles and decided to exterminate their entire family. In a difficult battle with the giants, Aya’s relatives died, and she was left alone. The elves knew that gargoyles were not safe creatures, but they took pity on Aya, hid her from the goblins on their island and saved her from certain death. Aya did not like daylight and therefore lived as a hermit, far from the elves.
But once a year, on a summer night, the gargoyle (in gratitude for saving and keeping the secret of her stay on the island) went out onto the porch of her home to share her magic with the inhabitants of the island. On this day, adult elves brought their children to the castle, and as soon as the last rays of the sun faded and the stars lit up in the sky, the magic began. Aya injected each baby elf with magical nectar, which appeared in a shiny droplet at the tip of her single claw on the wing. She did this to help the babies become adults, to spread their wings and give them strength. This has been the case for a hundred years.
This was the case that summer when it was Fly’s turn to become an adult. All the fabulous inhabitants of the island gathered near the gargoyle’s dwelling. The gargoyle first spread her wings, then uttered some words and touched the little elves with her claw with a drop of nectar, and at the end of the ritual she covered the injection site with a mint leaf. After some time, the little elves, who had already matured, flew high, high on strong and beautiful wings. How magnificent their flight was!
Fly watched with delight and slight envy the transformations of his comrades. He also wanted to have strong and beautiful wings, but the sharp claw frightened him so much that he could not decide to approach Aya. His heart was beating strongly with fear. No, Fly was not a coward! He was not afraid of anything in the world...except the gargoyle and its claw.
“Aya is kind, but so scary! And the claw is so big and sharp!!! What if the gargoyle pierces me right through with its claw? No, not even for the sake of strong wings, no!” - decided the little elf Fly, hid under a leaf of fern and from there continued to watch what was happening. No one noticed that Fly ran away from the ceremony and did not strengthen his wings with the magical nectar of the gargoyle Aya.
For a long time, the little elf managed to hide from everyone that he could not fly as high as the others. He deftly jumped from one tree branch to another - for this he only had the strength of his children's wings. And there was no need for wings to help the ants build an anthill or play hide and seek with the insects.
Nobody knows how, but the evil goblins learned the secret of the elves. They decided to take revenge on the inhabitants of the island and sent their most ferocious warrior to them. And then one day a large boat with an evil, dirty and foul-smelling goblin landed on the shore of the island. Having set foot on the island, the goblin immediately began to destroy and break trees, trample grass, crush cockroaches, and destroy bird nests. Horror gripped all the forest inhabitants. What will happen to them, the forest, the island?
The elves gathered for a council and began to think about how to stop the goblin and send him back. Finally they decided that they needed to get the flower of oblivion. The elves knew that in one distant clearing a wonderful flower grew and if a goblin inhaled its aroma, he would forget why he came to the island and return to his home. But not everyone can cope with such a task - you have to be very strong and brave to fly after the plant and return before the aroma wears off.
There are many strong elves, but there are brave ones... All the elves knew that the bravest one was Fly. Therefore, the important task of saving the forest and all the elves was entrusted to him. It was then that it turned out that Fly did not accept the gargoyle’s nectar and his wings were not as strong and durable as those of other adult elves. Panic set in. Some were crying, some were cursing. Some began to reproach the little elf, others tried to persuade him to go to Aya. How hard it was for Fly at that moment! "What should I do? I have to save everyone! But the gargoyle, her claw! I'm scared! Maybe we can do without this? — Fly was worried.
Someone flew to Aya for advice. The gargoyle passed a drop of nectar to moisten Fly's wings. Maybe this will help? And so they did.
Oh, miracle! Fly's wings began to glow with a soft blue light and lifted him high, high into the sky!!! The inhabitants of the island rejoiced - soon, very soon, salvation would come!
Everyone saw Fly rushing over them with a flower in his hands. All that remains is to find the goblin. But what is this? The glow of the elf’s wings began to quickly disappear, and Fly began to sharply lose height - this was the end of the nectar’s effect.
Night moths rushed to the aid of the brave elf and sprinkled him with pollen from their wings. From this, Fly (who was already as light as a feather) became even lighter, was able to get up and flew to the goblin with all his might. There were only a few centimeters left to the giant's large, potato-like nose. And then the goblin sneezed so hard that waves rose on the ocean, and all the pollen of night moths fell off the wings of the brave elf, and the flower crumbled into petals. Fly fell right under the feet of the evil giant.
The villain has already raised his hefty paw to crush the elf, and it is unknown what would have happened to Fly if not for Aya. Despite the scorching sun, Aya left her shelter and attacked the monster, began to beat it with her wings, and the goblin fell, losing his balance. In this terrible battle, the gargoyle damaged its wing and could no longer fight. Overcoming severe pain, she managed to move Fly to a safer place.
And the goblin, rising to his feet, began to destroy all life on the island with even greater anger. “If you don’t bring a magic flower now, then there will be nothing alive left on the island,” thought the exhausted Fly.
The little elf looked at his savior and was surprised to discover that she was not as terrible as he thought. And her wings are soft, and her claw is no longer so scary. From the prick of the claw, goosebumps ran through Fly’s body, then it became hot. He felt the magic spreading his wings. It hurt a little, but it wasn't scary at all. Fly rose into the air. His heart began to beat loudly and quickly, but not from fear, but from joy - now he has strong and beautiful wings. Oh, if he had known about this earlier, would he have run away from the ceremony!
With all his might, the brave elf rushed to the fairy-tale meadow for the flower of oblivion. A few seconds later, with a flower in his hands, he was already next to the goblin. And when the giant was about to crush the house of the elves, Fly flew up to his nose. The magic flower did its job - the goblin inhaled the aroma and froze with his leg raised: he thought, looked around with an uncomprehending look, scratched the back of his head and backed away to his boat.
As soon as the boat set sail, all the inhabitants of the island ran ashore, flew out, and crawled out. They surrounded the brave elf on all sides and began to thank him for his salvation. That same evening, a gala dinner was held in Fly's honor. For his courage and bravery, he was proclaimed king and protector of all elves.
Yulia Voroshnina
The fairy tale was written for a seven-year-old boy who categorically refused to be vaccinated. During the initial consultation, the psychologist learned that the boy is interested in computer games, where the main characters are goblins, elves and gargoyles. It was these details that made it possible to create a fairy tale and, in a metaphorical form, convey a “message” to the child about the need to get vaccinated.
One late evening I was walking home through the park. The path was illuminated by lanterns, and everything around was dark. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a strange old man appeared in front of me. Dark clothes, a cape made of silver brocade and a huge cap decorated with gold stars.
- Who you are? - I asked.
“Stargazer from the Capricious Planet,” the old man introduced himself.
- Stargazer from the Capricious Planet? — I was surprised and felt a chill run down my spine. - What are you doing here?
“I’m looking for capricious people,” the Astrologer answered tiredly and asked if I knew where capricious girls and boys lived in our city.
Of course, I immediately remembered about one girl, but I didn’t tell Astrologer about it. Instead, she asked why he was looking for capricious children. The astrologer sighed loudly and began his story:
— High, high in the sky, behind the large and bright stars, a small planet rotates. It is called the Pearl, although recently it is increasingly called the Capricious Planet. From time immemorial, Zhemchuzhinka was inhabited by hardworking, disciplined and neat people. In appearance they look like people living on Earth, only very small. Humans have always taken care of their planet, monitored cleanliness, treated nature with care, were friends with the inhabitants of neighboring planets, and never violated cosmic rules of conduct.
“What good people,” I continued the conversation. - Why do you call them whims?
— A year ago, a big disaster happened. The Pearl was attacked by microbes from the planet Virus, and almost all the little people fell ill with disobedience and whims. It was then that the planet began to be called Capricious, and the little men capricious,” the Astrologer answered sadly.
- What happened then? Why are you looking for capricious creatures on our planet?
The astrologer understood my concern, lowered his eyes and quietly continued: “A quarantine was declared on the planet, and the population was strictly, strictly prohibited from walking in outer space until the Pearl scientists create a medicine to cure everyone.” But a few capricious people broke the cosmic rules, went for a walk, got lost and ended up on planet Earth.
— Are the earthlings in danger? - I was scared.
“Yes and no,” Astrologer tried to reassure me. “I’ve already found all the capricious ones, vaccinated them and sent them to Zhemchuzhinka.” Now, as before, they are hardworking, disciplined and neat little people.
- So there is no more danger. I was happy and even clapped my hands. But the Astrologer frowned and said:
— Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. The fact is that on Earth the microbe of disobedience is dangerous only for children; it affects exclusively little people. Fortunately, most children on Earth have good obedience immunity, but there are children...
- Do you want to say that some children have already become ill with whims? — I interrupted the old man impatiently.
“Yes,” answered the Astrologer sadly. - What will happen to them?
“They may remain little whimsicals forever.”
- Can I help them somehow?
- Yes. To do this, they need to get a magical vaccination or several ordinary injections,” answered the Astrologer.
- Injections! — I groaned and remembered how I was sick as a child and how they gave me injections.
“Yes, a few ordinary injections,” the Astrologer calmly repeated, “this must be done as quickly as possible.” Only injections will help capricious girls and boys change, grow strong and healthy, beautiful and smart.
At this time, Astrologer's phone rang and he was told that they had found another capricious child. The astrologer bowed to me and disappeared as suddenly as he had appeared. And I hurried to my friend’s girl to tell her this story.
Liliya Tkach
In the basement of one of the houses in a certain city there lived a kitten, Kuzya. Kuzy did not have an owner - he was a homeless kitten - although it cannot be said that he was worried about this. It was summer, and Kuza was living well. In the basement there were mice, which the kitten loved very much, and in the yard there were many birds flying, which Kuzya hunted with pleasure. Sometimes caring old women brought scraps from their table to the cats, and the kitten always snatched the tastiest piece for himself. In the courtyard of the house, Kuzya often played with other kittens and basked in the sun.
But then autumn began to approach, and the weather began to deteriorate. Leaves fell from the trees, birds began to fly away to hot countries. And at night it became so cold that the puddles near the house began to become covered with a thin crust of ice. And then one day his friend, the kitten Vaska, came running to Kuza.
- Kuzya! Kuzya! - he called the kitten, - hurry up and get vaccinated, Grandma Nyura gives it to all the kittens!
Grandma Nyura loved animals very much, and used to even be a veterinarian until she retired. She always felt sorry for stray cats and dogs and often fed them, and with the onset of cold weather she decided to give all the animals in her yard vaccinations with vitamins so that the animals would not get sick in the winter.
Kuzya was very happy that he was invited to get vaccinated. He thought that vaccination was something very pleasant, because Baba Nyura would never hurt animals.
- What kind of vaccine is it? - Kuzya asked Vaska.
“A vaccination is a special injection that will protect you from diseases,” the enlightened comrade answered the kitten.
- What nonsense! I don't want any injection. In general, I’m a very healthy kitten and I’m not afraid of any diseases,” said Kuzya, “That’s why I won’t go for any vaccination!”
- Well, as you know! - said Vasily and ran to grandmother Nyura.
That day, Grandma Nyura vaccinated all the animals in the yard except Kuzya. She called him loudly, but the kitten did not respond. Kuzya heard the kind old lady calling him, but decided not to go to her.
Time passed, the nights became longer and colder. Soon heavy rains began, and after the rains came sleet. With the onset of cold weather, Kuzi's need for food increased, and he had to go outside more often in order to find food for himself. Running constantly in the cold rain and gusty wind, the kitten caught a cold. His throat hurt and his nose was stuffy. At first he didn't attach any importance to it. Kuzya believed that recovery would come to him on its own, but he was very mistaken. Every day the kitten felt worse and worse. He had a severe headache, weakness appeared, his bones ached and turned out, and his appetite completely disappeared. He developed a high temperature, his whole body was either burning or freezing. Kuzi did not have the strength to hunt. He lay there and meowed pitifully, asking other cats for help. His friend Vaska helped him as much as he could, but he did not know how to cure diseases. When Kuzma became completely unbearable, Vaska persuaded the elderly cat Murka to examine his friend.
Murka came, carefully examined Kuzya and said sadly: “Yes, Kuzya, it’s bad that you didn’t get vaccinated against diseases then.” You have ruined yourself! You now have pneumonia and I can’t help you with anything. It's unlikely you'll live to see spring.
Kuzya looked at the cat in horror.
- But how can that be! After all, I’m still very young, I don’t want to die! Can't anyone really help me anymore? – the kitten begged. Tears welled up in his eyes and his voice trembled. Kuza was scared to think about death.
“Only people can help you,” answered the cat, “they have many miraculous medicines that can cure an animal of any disease.” The main thing is to persuade them to help you.
“I’ll go to Grandma Nyura, she can cure me,” the kitten said hopefully.
- Hardly. Grandma Nyura was taken to the hospital yesterday, her heart ached, and she won’t be discharged from there very soon,” Murka answered him.
“I’ll find an owner who will agree to cure me,” Kuzya meowed and got ready to go outside.
- Well, good luck! Just keep in mind that even healthy and beautiful kittens don’t always manage to find an owner, and now it will be even more difficult for you,” Murka said goodbye and went home.
- I will definitely find an owner! You'll see! – Kuzya shouted and ran out into the street.
It was much colder outside than in the basement. A lot of snow fell overnight, and as morning came it began to slowly melt. A cold north wind was blowing.
Kuzya shivered, sat down on the road and began to peer into the faces of passers-by. People passed by, not paying attention to the kitten. His fate was indifferent to them. Then the cat began to meow pitifully, but this did not help. Only one compassionate man stopped, looked at the kitten and threw him a piece of white bread. At another time, Kuzya would have been delighted with the gift, but now he had no appetite. He felt very bad.
- Look what! If I were hungry, I would eat bread! And if you don’t eat, it means you won’t die of hunger, there’s no point in meowing like that! – the man muttered displeasedly to the kitten.
Kuzya became completely upset and began to meow even more pitifully. He was very cold. Cousins' paws were completely numb, and their little body was freezing in the icy wind. The kitten decided that he needed to not just sit and wait for someone to notice him, but to find the owner on his own.
Then he noticed that two girls were walking along the road. Kuzya ran up to them, looked pleadingly into their eyes and began to plaintively ask for help to be cured.
- Look, kitten! Meows pitifully. “Probably hungry,” one girl said to the other.
“I would throw him something, but I don’t have anything edible in my bag,” answered another.
- Maybe you can take him with you? “We’ll feed him there,” the first girl suggested.
- To yourself? Here's another! Look how shabby he is, and a mongrel too. If only he were fluffier and more purebred, then I would have thought about it.
The friends walked on. They had already forgotten about the kitten.
Kuzya was completely desperate. Now he understood how right the cat Murka was.
“Probably all my troubles come from the fact that I’m an ordinary cat, not a purebred cat.” And if so, no one needs me. Apparently I shouldn’t have been born into this world! Now I'm sick, and no one cares about me. No one will even pet me, scratch me behind the ear, say a kind word, and, of course, take me to the doctor. What a fool I was for not wanting to get vaccinated! Now I'll probably have to die. And no one will even remember me.
There's Kuzya of boys playing in the snow in the neighboring yard. The kitten ran towards them with all his strength.
- Maybe they will feel sorry for me?! Maybe one of them will want to take me home? - Kuzya hoped.
Meanwhile, the boys competed in accuracy. They aimed at the birds, but could not hit them. The birds tried to immediately fly away from the noisy children. Then they started aiming at the windows, but there were people living behind the windows who didn’t like such games. Therefore, very soon the boys had to throw snowballs at tree trunks, and this was boring.
And suddenly they heard a plaintive squeak. It was Kuzya who ran to them and began to ask for help.
- ABOUT! The enemy has emerged from ambush! Fire! - one of them commanded.
At the same moment, huge, cold snowballs flew towards the unfortunate kitten. He was very scared and in pain. The ice balls knocked Kuzya off his feet, and he did not have the strength to escape. The boys laughed; they thought it was funny that the kitten had fallen into the snow. At this moment, Kuzya no longer hoped for human mercy. He realized that he was doomed to death.
At this time, eighth-grader Yura was returning from school. Seeing how young urchins mocked the unfortunate kitten, he could not pass by.
-Oh, you flayers! Stop it immediately! - he shouted to the boys. Yura was a tall and strong boy, and the juvenile hooligans did not want to mess with him. They stopped throwing snowballs and ran to a safe distance.
Yura carefully took the kitten in his arms. Kuzya felt someone’s warm touch and came to life. He looked at the boy with gratitude, and a large tear suddenly rolled down from the kitten’s right eye.
- Wow! I didn't know that kittens could cry! - Yura said to himself, and, hiding the kitten under his jacket, hurried home.
At home, he let Kuzya out of his hands. The kitten immediately curled up and lay down on the floor. Then Yura poured milk into his bowl and cut off a piece of sausage. But the kitten did not touch either one or the other. He lay without opening his eyes and wheezed heavily. Then the boy immediately realized that his new friend was very sick.
Yura put Kuzya in his bag and took him to the animal clinic. There, an elderly doctor examined the kitten for a long time and listened to him through a tube. Kuzya was very scared, but sat quietly. He was glad that he finally got an appointment with the doctor.
“Your kitten has pneumonia,” said the doctor. “If you want him to get better, you will have to treat him for a long time.” I will prescribe pills and injections for him. Injections must be given. He won't be able to get better without them.
Yura promised the doctor to follow all the recommendations prescribed by Kuzma. And in fact, on the way home, he stopped at the pharmacy and bought everything he needed to treat the kitten.
The doctor prescribed twenty injections for the kitten, two a day. Yura’s mother helped him treat Kuzya. At first she didn’t like the kitten, but when she saw how bad he was, she felt sorry for him and agreed to keep him.
When Kuzya saw Yurina’s mother holding a syringe with a long needle in her hands, he was very scared. The kitten immediately wanted to escape from Yura’s hands and run away somewhere far away, but he remembered that without this injection he would not be able to recover, so the kitten closed his eyes, shrank and began to wait for this terrible needle to stick into his body. He imagined how painful and terrible it was. And suddenly he felt a slight, short-term pain. He felt about the same way if he was unexpectedly bitten by a mosquito.
“Well, that’s all,” said mom, taking out the needle.
Kuzya was very happy. He could not even imagine that an injection was not so scary. Now he was not at all afraid to continue treatment.
Less than two weeks passed before Kuzya began to recover. He gained an appetite, the weakness went away, and he felt great. In this house, no one hurt the kitten, and he sincerely became attached to Yura and other family members. And sometimes he himself even treated the boy and his parents for illnesses: he lay down on the place that hurt them, and the pain gradually subsided. Yura and Kuzya became the best friends.
Who's your best friend, baby?
E. Kazimirskaya
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Analysis of the fairy tale About the Hippopotamus, who was afraid of vaccinations
The preventive fairy tale was written by Suteev specifically for children to help them overcome their fear of medical procedures. It is useful to read and discuss the fairy tale with older preschoolers and younger schoolchildren. Ask the children what the fairy tale about the Hippopotamus, who was afraid of vaccinations, teaches? Your question will make children think about what qualities they need to get rid of in order not to become like a yellow or red hippopotamus. You and I can develop the author’s idea if we invite the kids to compose a continuation of the fairy tale. Our Hippo will become brave and learn to overcome his fears. All that remains is to buy a “brave” plush hippopotamus (maybe a crocodile or monkey), which will go with the baby for vaccinations.
