From the author: This is not an article, but a literary story. I often tell this story when working with children. She motivates them very well. The story can be used in the practice of a child and adolescent psychologist. This wonderful story happened in one small town, the name of which we would rather hide. It tells about two twelve-year-old boys, and it happened quite recently. It all started when Umar and Idris decided to take a walk on the outskirts of the town one early spring day. It was a day off, so they could walk without thinking about lessons. The guys lived not so far from the outskirts of the town and therefore often went to the nearby forest belt. It was not at all scary and quite a crowded place. There were always a lot of vacationers there, and a little further away, near the river, on the built dam you could always meet fishermen. Not far away there was a small house with a low fence. This house attracted attention because it stood apart from everyone else, and everyone knew that the watchman from the dam lived in it. Everyone knew and respected him as a decent, kind and honest person. The watchman's name was Grandfather Ahmad. He was not lonely, but on the contrary, his children and grandchildren often came to see him, and the yard was almost always full of guests. This has almost always been the case, but not today. Apparently, the grandchildren and children decided to spend their time differently this weekend. And so our friends found themselves at the dam among the fishermen. The boys were always curious to watch them catch fish. So this time, leaning on the railing, the guys closely watched the floats. They didn’t even notice how grandfather Ahmad approached them. “Assalamualaikum,” he greeted the boys. “Vaalaikumassalam, grandfather Ahmad,” the boys answered. – Why are you standing here bored, is there really nothing to do? - asked the watchman - No, no, that’s how we... - answered Umar. “We just watch how they catch fish.” They talked like that for about ten minutes. The old man told us why the dam was needed and how important it was to monitor the water level in the river. And the boys shared their impressions of how one fisherman managed to pull out a big fish. - Do you want me to give you bicycles? - the watchman suddenly said. “My grandchildren don’t take them anymore anyway, apparently they’ve grown up.” - We want!!! – the friends exclaimed almost unanimously. “Then come with me, they are right in the barn,” the old man suggested. It was quite a short walk from the dam to the watchman’s house, but it seemed to the guys that they had walked a whole kilometer, they were so eager to ride. Having reached the house, the watchman invited his companions to wait outside. There was no limit to the joy of Umar and Idris when, a minute later, grandfather Ahmad appeared, rolling two bicycles. It cannot be said that they were new, but I couldn’t even call them old. They were the same model, but they were distinguished by color: one was green and the other was blue. – Green is mine! – Idris shouted, immediately determining who would get what. “Here, take them, now they are yours,” said the old man, “tell your parents that I gave them to you.” Idris took a green bike for himself, and Umar got a blue one. The boys thanked the old man for a long time, after which they decided to immediately ride home on their bicycles. As soon as they set off, Idris's joy immediately faded. It turned out that the bicycle he had chosen so quickly was faulty. No, he was not faulty in the full sense of the word. You could ride it, but it was very, very tight. It took a lot of effort to turn the pedals. Umar’s bicycle is a completely different matter. It was easy to handle and a real pleasure to ride. “Wait,” Idris stopped, “I can’t drive normally, I’m really tight, let’s change.” “But you yourself shouted that yours is green, now it’s too late to change anything,” Umar answered him. “It’s not too late, I didn’t know, it’s so dishonest,” Idris began to object, “either we change, or I won’t be friends with you.” They argued for a short time, but in the end Umar gave in. He didn't think the bike was such an important thing to fight over.with a friend. And, he thought, it can probably be fixed, and it’s not that important. They swapped bicycles and continued on their way. Then Umar understood why Idris argued so furiously. It turned out that driving such a vehicle is not such a pleasure. Having somehow reached home and told his parents everything, Umar decided to start repairing his new car. He took the rear wheel apart, lubricated everything inside and put it back together. To his unpleasant surprise, this did not solve the problem - the bike still remained very tight. No matter who took on the repair, the result was the same. In the end, everyone decided that this was some kind of manufacturing defect and it was impossible to fix it. Having difficulty accepting the fact that the bike could not be repaired, Umar decided to ride it as it was. Every day she and Idris went for a walk around the block. Riding day after day, Umar got used to coping with a tight bike and no longer suffered so much. Although he got tired faster than his friend, he still kept up with him. So spring passed and summer began. Our heroes not only rode bicycles, they also studied well. And Umar also loved to read, and not only books, but also local newspapers. And in one of them he saw an announcement that in mid-July a cycling competition among boys would be held in their town. It was especially noted that children aged from eleven to fourteen years old were allowed to join them. And our heroes were just thirteen. Umar informed his friend about this, and they began to prepare. To begin with, the guys contacted the organizing committee to be included in the list of participants. Every day they went for a bike ride and tried to ride more than the previous day. In a month and a half, they almost doubled their distance, and this gave them a great chance of winning. In addition, they were very curious about what would be the main prize. All that was known about it was that it was a pleasant surprise. And then the day of the competition approached. Getting up early in the morning, the friends rode their bicycles to the city stadium. Arriving at the place, they learned that registration had just begun. Surprisingly, not so few teenagers decided to take part in the competition, or rather, there were about a hundred of them. Already on the spot, they found out that the competition would be held in several stages: in each race there would be ten people. And the winner will be the one who completes ten laps around the stadium in the fastest time. They also learned that each circle is equal to half a kilometer, that is, in ten circles they will have to cover a distance of five kilometers. This was a distance almost equal to that which Umar and Idris covered on their bicycle rides. They also found out that they would have to ride not on their own bicycles, but on those that were specially brought for the competition. This was fair, since some of the boys had sports bicycles, which were in many ways superior to the cars of other guys. From the list posted, the guys learned that Idris was in the top ten, and Umar was in the ninth. And so the competition began. The top ten started and the countdown began. During the bike ride, it turned out that not all boys could ride all ten laps without stopping. Some gave up on the fifth, and others on the penultimate. We had to wait a long time for our turn, but it came. Idris's last name was announced, and he walked out onto the stadium line. Umar wished him good luck and patience. Idris fought hard for the victory and already took the lead on the eighth lap. He understood that to win he needed not only to get ahead of nine competitors, but to show the best result in time. On the tenth lap, his strength began to leave him, but Idris was still able to reach the finish line first. Having finished his race, he, barely dragging his feet, went to his friend. Having sat down on a bench, the friends began to wait for Umar’s turn. We didn’t have to wait too long, and then Umar’s name was announced through a megaphone. Idris wished him luck and shook his hand. As soon as Umar got on the bike, he felt that it was very light, and after the start was announced and everyone rushed forward, his joy knew no bounds. He had already forgotten that.