Kuzya the Piglet

The book includes three original fairy tales by the German artist of Irish descent Elisabeth Shaw: "Turtle's Birthday," "Caroline the Snail," and "Kuzya the Boarlet." Everyone who grew up in the GDR in the 1960s-1980s knows Elisabeth Shaw's name, and at its mere mention, they break into a wide smile – her books were the most beloved by several generations of children in East Germany.
"Turtle's Birthday": Turtle had a cherished dream: to receive a head of juicy green lettuce for her birthday. But for some reason, none of her friends thought to give her exactly that gift. They sincerely gave Turtle gifts that they themselves would have been happier to receive: Lion brought a piece of raw meat, Elephant – a bucket of refreshing water, Pelican – a large fish. Turtle didn't take offense; she warmly thanked her friends and immediately suggested they use the brought gifts themselves to please her. Only late in the evening did a small Mouse bring Turtle a huge round package tied with a beautiful ribbon. Can you guess what was inside? Of course, lettuce, it couldn't have been anything else! After all, if you are friendly, sincere, and responsive, all your dreams will sooner or later definitely come true.
"Caroline the Snail": a snail named Caroline was very shy and slow, so no one wanted to be friends with her. Ladybugs and other insects only teased the poor Snail because she had neither legs nor wings and would never be able to fly. Caroline was very upset by this and secretly hoped that someday she might still be able to fly. One day it happened: during a hurricane, the wind lifted a leaf on which Caroline was sitting into the air and carried it to the other end of the lawn. Two important things happened as a result of this flight: first, Caroline learned once and for all that she didn't like flying at all, and second, at the other end of the lawn, she met Albert – a snail just like herself. Since then, they never parted and slowly went through life together. Moral: You shouldn't worry about being different from most people around you. The world is full of people with whom you will find more similarities than differences, and with whom you will be happy.
"Kuzya the Boarlet": Kuzya the Boarlet, who lived in the forest with his mother and older brothers, was greatly bothered by mosquitoes and gnats. They constantly bit him and crawled on his legs, causing Kuzya to stop all the time to scratch. Mama was very angry about this and thought that little Kuzya was growing up to be a clumsy oaf and something urgently needed to be done about it. In hopes of receiving wise pedagogical advice, she set off with her entire litter to the Old Forest Spirit. During the audience, it so happened that Kuzya helped the Forest Spirit free the tip of his long beard, which had grown into the ground. In gratitude, the Forest Spirit promised Kuzya to fulfill three of his wishes. Naturally, Kuzya's first wish was for all mosquitoes and gnats to immediately disappear from the forest. They disappeared, but then the birds became indignant – they had nothing to eat. To avoid listening to their deafening clamor, Kuzya, without much thought, wished for the birds to disappear from the forest forever as well. They disappeared, but now the trees became indignant – who would scatter their seeds and heal them from pests? Kuzya opened his mouth to wish for the trees to disappear too, but he was stopped in time by other forest dwellers. They explained to the boarlet that without trees, all animals, including the boar family, would soon disappear. Kuzya understood everything perfectly, and his third wish was to bring back the gnats and birds. This fairy tale perfectly demonstrates the interconnectedness of all living things in the world and will provide an opportunity to talk with children about environmental issues.