Once upon a time there were a big One and three big Zeros. They were all friends and spent time playing together. One was the fastest, the smartest and strongest of the four, and the Zeros always teamed up to try not to make him win, sometimes succeeding, sometimes not. Often, in fact, during the races, two of the Zeros were in charge of crushing One between them and letting the third Zero win. One day One, who was tired of always having to confront alone against the three Zeros, said:
"I bet that even if you add all three, will I be stronger and faster than you?"
The three consulted for a moment and convinced that their sum would certainly make them better than One, they added themselves together. From Zero plus Zero plus Zero a new Zero came to life, just barely more swollen than the three Zeros that had formed it. This new Zero felt so smart, fast and strong, so he challenged One. They did a speed race and One won. Then they did a showdown but One won again. Zero was desperate and no longer knew how to win against One. Now he was left alone and had no one else to ally himself with, as he once did when there were three of them. Frustrated, passing by an unsuspecting One, he struck him so hard with anger that One broke into a thousand pieces. These pieces, so similar to Uno but much smaller, all ended up on the circumference of Zero, as if attracted by that great circle. There were, however, too many and they found themselves crushed, tight, one on top of the other.
Zero, who for only a moment was sorry for what he had done, began to laugh at them:
"Look at you, you are so small and insignificant."
Some of the little ones thought about adding up to save space, hoping to be able to be at least a little less uncomfortable. So Two were formed, but they didn't stop because there wasn't enough space yet. They added up again with each other and with the other one, giving rise to the Three, the Four and, continuing, to many other numbers. Zero envious of those numbers that could add up and grow, he began to spin fast on himself with anger. He wanted them to fly off his circumference, away, and disappear forever from his life. It was so fast that there seemed to be so many Zeros that it formed a sphere. It is not known how, but so it was. All the One, the Two, the Three, the Four and all the other numbers were scattered over the entire surface of Zero, or rather the sphere formed by Zero.
By now the numbers no longer needed to add up because the surface of Zero had become very large. You must know that there were only two One left and one of these still wanted to add up, but was stopped by the other One who said he had a plan that would benefit both of them. So he began to say to everyone:
“The Ones are the best. They are, in fact, exactly as the great One father of us all was. The more you add up, the more you will become different from him and you will become so imperfect."
It wasn't long before the other numbers stopped adding up and started making fun of the larger numbers. In particular, a pair of Fifteen were targeted, the largest in the whole sphere. Feeling marginalized, they sought an isolated spot on the surface and stood there alone.
The Zero, who heard and saw everything about what was happening on its surface, began to tell the two Fifteen how the others had begun to add up relentlessly, in a competition to see who gets bigger. The two Fifteen, however, who had already been teased enough, did not believe him. That was until another Fifteen joined them. As soon as they saw him, one of them said:
"Another Fifteen?" Why are you here? There were no other Fifteen when we left."
The newcomer seemed so happy and proud to be so big and replied:
“We are growing more and more. I came here because I knew I would find at least one of you to add up with. But if you want, you two could add up, you don't know what a great look you would make coming back to the others like a big and beautiful Thirty."
The two thought about it for a moment, then they were convinced and joined together. They did not know that Fifteen had been sent on purpose by One and Zero, with the promise that he would never be made fun of by anyone. In reality, the numbers had never started adding up again.
When Thirty returned to the others and began to meet the old Five, Four, Three, Two and One, he knew he had been deceived and, in tears, ran away, alone.
However, there was a One who, as mentioned before, still wanted to add up and seeing Thirty who had become so great, not only in value but also in size, an idea came to his mind. So he went after him. When he reached him he did not want to listen to him, but One insisted:
“I just want to add up. You are now so great, the greatest of all. What changes you if you increase by one? I'm the one who has everything to lose, don't you think?"
Thirty thought about it and in the end, although not entirely convinced, he satisfied Uno. They added up and became thirty-one. The new Thirty-one knew of One's plan and so he returned to the others to carry it out. He met Fifteen, who, contrary to what he was promised, was mocked by everyone. Thirty-one spoke to him and tried to persuade him to join him:
“The others are already making fun of you. There is no point in running away and being alone, you would still be sick. Join me."
Fifteen thought about it, but still wasn't convinced:
"Why should I add myself to you?" You are the greatest of all."
Thirty-one then tried to explain what had happened:
“I am the sum of Thirty and One. The plan belongs to the latter. If he decided to lose everything by becoming the greatest when he was already the perfect number, do you think he would have done it without a good reason?"
So he thought about it, then since he didn't have much to lose he added up to Thirty-one and they became Forty-six.
Forty-six continued to spin among the other numbers and convinced them one by one to add up to him. The more numbers added together the more it grew. There were three fourteen, four thirteen, three twelve, six eleven, seven ten, nine nine, twenty-two eight, twenty-one seven, sixteen six, eighteen five, twelve four, eleven three and eight two.
In the end there was an immense Nine hundredninety-nine and a very small One who still refused to add up:
"Why should I add myself to you who are so imperfect?" I am the only true One."
Then Nine hundred ninety-nine answered him:
“One, do you see the legs of my nine? I will give them to you, we will make them straight and you will become the greatest One ever. You will be as great as the great One our father. What do you think about it?"
One, attracted by the proposal received, decided to add up and of the thousand that formed he became the part in the lead of that only one who was ahead of zero.
Thousand was so big that the Zero below him could no longer bear the weight, so suddenly it burst and the explosion divided the One and the three Zeros that formed a Thousand.
Once upon a time there were a big One and three big Zeros ...