Description:

A tale of two stories. In one of them, acts of petty cruelty make everything go wrong. In the other, small acts of kindness make everything go right. Based on a story by the Lithuanian writer Kazimieras Saja.

In the finale of Saja's original story, according to the director, the mouse told her little ones: "Mark this well on your tails: the more bumblebees, the more clover. The more clover, the more cows. The more cows, the more milk. The more milk, the kinder the cats. And the kinder the cats, the easier life is for us mice." Gorlenko attempted to show this in the film without dialogue.

First storyline:

A coachman calmly drives a horse-drawn cart carrying the king. Suddenly, a bumblebee flies into the mare's ear, causing her to gallop wildly. The out-of-control cart crashes into a post. Blaming the coachman for the accident, the king gives his ear a sharp, painful tug. The coachman runs off, shouting. Furious, he declines his neighbors' invitation to go out and returns home to his wife. He scolds her over a trifle. She vents her anger on the dog. The dog takes its anger out on the rooster. The rooster does the same to the cat. The cat turns on a little mouse. The mother of the mouse eaten by the cat orders her two remaining offspring to eat all the bees' honey.

Second storyline:

Events unfold just as before, up to the point of the cart crash. The new king, not at all angry with the coachman, lets him go. Upon seeing his neighbors, the cheerful coachman accepts their invitation to go out. When he returns home, his wife nearly strikes her tipsy husband, but he manages to appease her. She brings him food, only to find it has gone bad. Far from being angry, the husband gives the food to the dog. The dog offers it to the rooster, who passes it on to the hens. The wife feeds the cat milk. In a good mood, the cat kisses a mouse. The little mice ask again to eat the bees' honey, but their mother refuses; the bees pollinate the plants eaten by cows, which in turn produce the milk the cat drinks.

Award:
1984 - Ashgabat, Turkmen SSR, USSR - Film Festival of Eastern Countries - Diploma (source)