In the town of Geometry, everything was as it should be. Neat and precise. Every house was a perfect cube with straight walls and exactly four corners in every room. The sidewalks were made of small squares, and even the trees in the park had their crowns trimmed into the shape of cubes. Everything had its place and its order. The residents of Geometry loved this angular world of theirs. It was predictable and safe.
One sunny morning, however, something unheard of appeared on the main street. It wasn't a car with square wheels rolling down the road, as usual, but a large, shiny, blue vehicle, resembling a giant sphere, that rolled along merrily. It stopped with a quiet hiss, and its doors peeled open like an orange peel. Out rolled one cheerful, round figure, then a second, and behind them, two smaller spheres. They were the Ballingtons. Mr. Ballington, Mrs. Ballington, and their two children, Ginka and Guliver.
Everyone in the town came out of their cube-shaped houses and watched the new neighbors in amazement. The children, Philip and Lena, who were playing with blocks in their yard, ran closer. "Good day!" greeted Mr. Ballington, wobbling gently. "We are your new neighbors. We were shown our new house, that one at the end of the street."
Philip and Lena looked at the nice, yellow, cube-shaped house. It was exactly the same as all the others. Then they looked at the Ballingtons, who were all perfectly round. Philip scratched behind his ear. "Um... are you sure you'll fit in there?"
Mrs. Ballington smiled optimistically. "Oh yes, of course! The house is quite large, after all." They gave it a try. Mr. Ballington carefully rolled towards the door. The door was, of course, rectangular. Taking a deep breath, he tried to roll inside. Thump! He hit the top edge of the door. Clunk! He hit the side edge. Finally, with great effort, he managed to squeeze through, but it was no better in the hallway. He got stuck between the wall and the coat rack. "Ouch! It's a bit... sharp in here," a voice called from inside.
Mrs. Ballington tried too. She managed to get inside with little Ginka and Guliver, but they all immediately rolled into one of the corners and couldn't get out. The corners were like traps for them. They couldn't lean comfortably anywhere. Wherever they moved, they bumped into some edge or sharp corner.
Philip and Lena watched the whole thing with bated breath. "They really don't fit," Lena whispered. "All those corners and straight walls are in their way."
Philip nodded. He was a boy who liked to investigate and solve problems. "A sphere just doesn't get along with a cube. Look," he showed Lena one of his toy blocks. "When I place a marble here," he took a glass marble from his pocket, "it only touches at one small point. Everything else around it is empty space. And in a corner? It can't even get in there properly."
The Ballingtons sadly rolled back outside and sat on the green, square-mown lawn. Ginka and Guliver began to roll quietly from side to side, which for the Ballingtons meant they were unhappy.
"What are we going to do?" sighed Mrs. Ballington. "We can't live in a house like this. It's uncomfortable and dangerous for us."
Lena felt very sorry for them. She took Philip's hand. "We have to help them! Everyone needs a home where they feel good." Philip thought for a moment, and his eyes lit up. "What if we build them a new house? One that would be just right for them!"
"But what kind?" asked Lena. "All the houses in Geometry are cubes." "Exactly!" exclaimed Philip. "That's why we'll build them... a round house!"
The idea was so bold that Lena laughed. A round house in Geometry! That had never been done before. But she liked it. They immediately started planning. They sat on the grass and took out a piece of paper and a pencil.
"First, we need a solid foundation," said Philip, who remembered his father building a shed. "But how do we make a round foundation?" Lena thought for a a moment and drew a circle on the paper. "We'll draw a big circle on the ground and place large, flat stones from the river along its edge. What do you think?" "Great idea! That will be our perimeter. And then? What will we build the walls out of?"
The first attempt failed. They tried stacking cubes in a circle, but ugly gaps remained between the cubes, and the wall wasn't smooth. The Ballingtons would keep bumping into them. "It didn't work? Excellent!" said Philip cheerfully. "Now we know how not to do it! Cubes aren't suitable."
The second attempt was with bricks. They were smaller, but still angular. The wall was sturdier, but still full of edges. "Nothing again," sighed Lena. "We need a material that can be shaped."
Just then, Philip remembered the potter's wheel at school. "Clay! Or something like it! What if we used a special construction clay that hardens in the air?"
They excitedly ran to Mr. Quadratic, the oldest builder in town, and explained everything to him. Mr. Quadratic looked very surprised at first. A round house? He stroked his square chin for a moment, but then he smiled. "It's unusual, but logical. If someone has a round shape, they need a round space. Here you go, a special, fast-hardening, and very strong clay mixture. And don't forget, children, every building must be stable."
Philip and Lena thanked him and got to work. Ginka and Guliver happily helped them. They carried water in small, round buckets and handed them smaller, smooth pebbles. First, they created a solid stone foundation in the shape of a circle. Then they began to apply layers of clay. They proceeded slowly and carefully, just like building a snow igloo. They created a beautiful, smooth dome without a single corner. They also made round windows so the Ballingtons would have a nice view.
It took three days. When the structure was finished, it looked like a giant, smooth, gray stone that had landed amidst all those cubes. It was strange, but at the same time, beautiful.
"It's finished!" Lena shouted. The Ballingtons carefully rolled closer. Mr. Ballington rolled through the large, round entrance without a single problem. Mrs. Ballington and the children followed him. Joyful laughter echoed from inside. "It's perfect! No corners! No edges!" Mrs. Ballington rejoiced. "We can lean against any wall, and it feels lovely!" Ginka and Guliver rolled cheerfully around the room, playing tag around the center of the house.
The other residents of Geometry came out of their houses. At first, they just stood quietly and stared. The round house was so different. But then they saw how happy the Ballingtons were in it. They saw the little round children laughing and how their parents could finally relax.
The mayor of the town, Mr. Cube, approached Philip and Lena. "I must admit, I was skeptical. But now I see that you were right. Just because something is different doesn't mean it's bad. Thanks to you, we've learned something important."
From that day on, the town of Geometry began to change. Right next to the round house, the Pyramid family built a house in the shape of a pyramid. A little further on, a tall, cylinder-shaped house sprouted up for the Cylinder family. Suddenly, the town was not just angular, but full of different shapes, colors, and ideas. It was much more cheerful and interesting.
Philip and Lena often visited the Ballingtons in their round house. They sat on soft, round cushions, ate ball-shaped cakes, and talked about how wonderful it is that the world is so diverse. And everyone understood that even though cubes, spheres, pyramids, and cylinders are different, they can live together in harmony and enrich one another.
And what about you, children? With your parents' help, try building a little house out of blocks at home. And then, take some modeling clay and shape the most beautiful round house you can. You will see that every shape has its own charm.