At the edge of the village, in a brick house lived a girl named Ira with her mum. The village was located not far from a big city and the surroundings were picturesque. In the dense forest grew many mushrooms, and on the meadow in front of the forest you could pick wild strawberries. A small creek that ran along the edge of the village flowed into a small lake where ducks loved to swim and even two snow-white swans would visit. That's why many holidaymakers loved to come to their village on weekends.
One day, Mum asked Ira to take medicine and necessary groceries to Grandma. Ira's grandmother lived in a village beyond the forest and it wasn't far to walk.
Mum:
Ira, sweetheart, Grandma's not feeling well. Run through the forest and take her the medicine.
Ira:
Mum, I really don't want to! My favourite cartoon is about to start, and then I was planning to go to the lake with my friends.
Mum:
Go on, it won't take long, and when you get back, you can definitely go for a walk with your friends.
Ira put on her favourite polka-dot rubber boots and her pink raincoat, took the medicine and left the house. She had to walk through a field, then a bit through the forest, along the creek, past the lake. She was walking and was already halfway across the field when she heard:
Mouse:
Girl, help me! Someone threw a packet and it's blocked the entrance to my burrow. My baby mice are inside and they'll perish without me.
Ira:
Oh, Mouse, I need to hurry to Grandma's, otherwise I won't be able to get back to my friends in time.
But Ira bent down, moved the packet away and continued on. She approached the edge of the forest and heard someone groaning:
Birch Tree:
Hello girl, don't be frightened, it's me – a birch tree. Help me, people collected sap from me in spring, made cuts and drove nails in. It hurts me, sap keeps flowing out of me, and it's like blood for me. I could die.
Ira:
Sorry, Birch Tree, I'm in a hurry!
But Ira felt sorry for the birch tree. With difficulty, she pulled out the large nails from the trunk and continued on.
Ira:
I'll pick some flowers for Grandma!
Oak Tree:
Don't do that, girl, don't pick the flowers! By the time you get to Grandma's, they'll have wilted, and many of the flowers you want to pick for a bouquet are already rare to find in our forest.
Ira thought about the Oak Tree's words and didn't pick any flowers. Humming her favourite little song, the girl reached the forest creek. Its banks were soft and muddy, making it difficult to cross.
Ira:
Hey, Beaver, build me a bridge across the creek! I'm in such a hurry to get to my Grandma!
Beaver:
Hello girl! I'll help you, but you must promise me that you'll help pull rubbish out of the creek. People have thrown all sorts of things in here: tin cans, bottles, and some rubber, all of it poisons the water. We beavers suffer, and so does the fish that swim in the creek.
Ira:
Alright, Beaver, I can't manage it alone, but I'll definitely convince my friends to help you and the fish.
The Beaver helped Ira cross the creek. And the girl continued on. She heard someone calling for help in a clear little voice. She saw a small bird flying above the thick grass and crying loudly.
Ira:
What's happened to you? Why are you chirping so loudly across the whole forest?
Little Bird:
Help me, girl! I can't manage on my own! My chick fell out of the nest, and a fox is prowling nearby – she'll find it and eat it.
Ira:
Oh, Bird, what kind of day is this for me? Everyone needs my help!
Ira felt sorry for the little chick and its mother. She found a tiny bundle in the thick grass. She climbed up a tree and placed the chick back in the nest.
Little Bird:
Thank you so much, girl.
Ira continued on, didn't notice a branch, stumbled and fell, scraping her leg.
Ira:
Where did a broken bottle come from in the forest?
And she saw a little Rabbit sitting under a fir tree and crying bitterly.
Ira:
What's wrong, Rabbit?
Rabbit:
I've been lying under the little fir tree since morning, the sun shines through the branches and warms my fur. And then something very heavy falls on me, then again and again. It hit me on the face and on my paw. The tourists in the forest were having fun like that. They had a rest and decided to have some fun. They left lots of rubbish, even broke bottles and left. They didn't even put out the fire. Good thing it rained, or there would have been trouble.
Ira:
I need to collect the broken glass, otherwise some other animal might get hurt.
Ira collected the broken bottles, buried them in a hole and continued on. She came out of the forest to the lake, and there were two swans. But whereas before they had been snow-white, now their feathers had turned grey.
Ira:
Oh, Swans, what's happened to your feathers?
Swans:
Ira, we loved coming to this lake every year, but then they built a big factory here that dumps harmful substances into the lake. There are fewer fish living here now, and the water is becoming dirty. Now we'll have to find a new home for our family.
Ira felt sad, because she and her friends loved admiring these beautiful birds – they were the village's main attraction. The girl felt downhearted and continued on. Finally, in the distance, Ira saw the roofs of houses. It was the village where her grandmother lived. On the meadow at the edge of the village, the girl met a Wolf lying on the grass and whimpering.
Ira:
What's happened to you, Grey One?
Wolf:
I wanted to get to your Grandma's first, but my stomach's started hurting. Not long ago I was a cheerful and well-fed animal, but now the food in our forest is running out. Yesterday I caught a Goat in a neighbouring field and had a good dinner. But that Goat had eaten grass in a distant collective farm field, and they'd just sprayed the crops with all sorts of chemicals, so it got me too. Now I'll have to go into the forest to look for medicinal herbs.
Ira:
Be careful in the forest, Wolf. Tourists left mountains of rubbish there yesterday and broke lots of glass.
Wolf:
Thank you.
The wolf sighed sadly and trudged off with his head down. Ira wanted to make her way through the young birch grove, but before she'd taken a few steps, there sat a Bear on a tree stump.
Ira:
Hello, Old Clumsy! What are you doing in the field? Go into the forest!
Bear:
Hello, girl. I'm afraid to go into the forest. Yesterday someone didn't put out a campfire in the forest and I nearly got burnt. Everyone knows that you can't light fires in the forest in such dry and windy weather – a fire could start. Now I'm afraid to go back, I really don't want to burn in a fire. They've cut down the neighbouring forest, and I need to prepare a home for winter.
Ira:
Take care of yourself, Misha!
Bear:
There's nothing I can do, I'll go back to my forest and hope I survive the winter.
And the bear went off into the thick of the forest. Ira came out of the young forest and met a Fox.
Ira:
Hello, Little Fox, what are you doing here?
Fox:
Well, I'm thinking where to find some food. I haven't eaten since yesterday morning. There's almost nothing left to find in the forest. I'll have to visit the barns of the houses on the edge of the village.
Ira:
Oh, Little Fox, I feel sorry for you animals. People don't even think about how hard it is for animals in nature. It's very difficult to live surrounded by rubbish. And there are fewer and fewer forests. We don't even realise what damage we're causing to the environment.
All:
People, think about it!
You are not alone on our earth!
All birds and beasts cry out with one voice!
Save our offspring, forests and fields!
Don't light campfires and don't build factories!
Let us live a happy life!
Home schooling.
