Story...not my own but one to remember

This is a story that has circulated (and I have heard many times) before. Let us remember its lesson. Pass it on.   The Warm Fuzzies Story!

A long time ago there was a wonderful place called the Land of the Fuzzies where people were almost magically happy. To know how happy they were you have to understand something about those days. You see all kids and grown ups had small, soft, fuzzy bags that they carried around with them all the time. They could reach into these bags any time and pull out a warm fuzzy to make themselves or others feel good all over. People who didn't get fuzzies, and didn't give any to themselves or others, usually shriveled up and were mean and nasty all their lives. But people didn't have to live without fuzzies in those days, it was easy to get them. If you lived in the Land of the Fuzzies, people might walk up to you and say, "Please give us some warm fuzzies!" You would then gladly reach into your fuzzy bag and put some of your fuzzies into your friends' hands. The fuzzies would snuggle up to your friends and make them feel wonderful all over. In this land, people felt free to ask each other for warm fuzzies, and they willingly shared their fuzzies. There were plenty to go around, it seemed. But then trouble began! Bratinella, who was  in charge of giving out all the mean and lonely feelings in the world, got very angry when she flew over the Land of the Fuzzies and saw how happy the kids and the grownups were. "Well, shiver my lizards," she growled. "This will never do. How can I make sure the world is miserable when people are giving each other warm fuzzies?" Since Bratinella was as clever as she was nasty, she quickly came up with a plan for ruining those good feelings in the Land of the Fuzzies. She got into her princess disguise, rode a magic carpet, and flew to the front yard of the first cottage she saw in the Land of the Fuzzies. Ralfellow, the man who lived in the cottage, thought Bratinella was a royal visitor and rushed out to greet her. Of course, the first thing she did was offer Bratinella a warm fuzzy. Since mean people and warm fuzzies don't mix, Bratinella said to Ralfellow that she couldn't possibly take her warm fuzzy. "In fact," Bratinella said slyly to Ralfellow, "I wouldn't dream of taking away your fuzzy when there are so few of them left! Haven't you heard about the terrible shortage of fuzzies?" "Leaping lollipops!" said Ralfellow. Maybe I shouldn't be giving my fuzzies away so freely!" "That's exactly what I came to warm you about," said Bratinella. "And now I hope you'll hang on to your fuzzies." Can you figure out what Bratinella's plan was? Do you think it was going to work? Well, Ralfellow stopped giving away warm fuzzies when her friends asked him for one. People noticed his selfish behavior and stopped giving theirs away, too, for fear they might run out. Pretty soon, there were no warm fuzzies circulating around, and people started locking them up so they wouldn't be stolen. Now people began to get uncomfortable feelings that they had never had before. They didn't know what to do with those feelings. When they got lonely, they stopped going to friends to get cheered up. When they got mad, they pouted and stayed mad instead of trying to talk it out. When they got sad, they even sometimes took a pill, thinking it would solve their problems. Do you think that their taking pills could solve their problems? People stopped being generous with each other. And to try and get happy again, they started wanting to own all kinds of things, like lots of clothes or huge cars, or they watched a lot of television. They stopped talking to each other. When people did talk to each other, they gave each other such uncomfortable feelings that it felt like the opposite of a warm fuzzy. And the opposite of a warm fuzzy was a cold prickly! Have you ever gotten a cold prickly? Something that someone said to you or did to you that left you feeling really put down? Since the warm fuzzies weren't being shared what do you think the Land of the Fuzzies should be renamed? Do you think Bratinella's plan worked? One day, a family moved into this sad land and they were very kind. They just happened to bring some warm fuzzies with them and were quite willing to share them with everyone. Pretty soon the good feelings that they created began to spread, and more people began sharing their warm fuzzies again. Like a flower beginning to bloom, the people began to renew their ability to make each other happy. And that's the story of the Warm Fuzzies!