c. Let Me Tell You A Secret About the Environment - Europa
c. Let Me Tell You A Secret About the Environment - Europa
c. Let Me Tell You A Secret About the Environment - Europa
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European Commission
European Commission<br />
<strong>Let</strong> me tell you a secret<br />
about <strong>the</strong> environment<br />
Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of <strong>the</strong> European Communities<br />
2003 — 20 pp. — 16.2 x 22.9 cm<br />
ISBN 92-894-3866-5<br />
Published in all <strong>the</strong> official languages of <strong>the</strong> European Union:<br />
Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian,<br />
Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish.<br />
European Commission<br />
Directorate-General for <strong>the</strong> <strong>Environment</strong><br />
Directorate-General for Press and Communication — Publications<br />
B-1049 Brussel/Bruxelles<br />
Script: Benoît Coppée<br />
Illustrations: Nicolas Viot<br />
Manuscript completed in August 2002<br />
More information about <strong>the</strong> environment policies can be found at <strong>the</strong> DG <strong>Environment</strong> website<br />
on <strong>the</strong> <strong>Europa</strong> Server: http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment<br />
Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of <strong>the</strong> European Communities, 2003<br />
© European Communities, 2003<br />
Reproduction is authorised provided <strong>the</strong> source is acknowledged.<br />
Printed in Germany<br />
PRINTED ON CHLORINE-FREE PAPER
Lila <strong>the</strong> fox was resting outside her den at <strong>the</strong> <strong>Me</strong>rlin<br />
City rubbish dump. It was early morning and <strong>the</strong> sun<br />
was rising.<br />
Suddenly she heard a faint sound. She pricked up<br />
her ears. What could it be? A bird? No. Then she<br />
heard it again. It seemed to be coming from a<br />
cupboard someone had thrown away, quite close to<br />
her.<br />
Lila tiptoed towards it. The cupboard door opened<br />
slightly and out came a small foot, wearing a shoe.<br />
Then came a leg. "What’s going on?” Lila wondered.<br />
1
Then out of <strong>the</strong> cupboard stepped a small boy. He<br />
looked lost and <strong>the</strong> fox felt sorry for him. "Hello: I’m<br />
Lila” she said. "Who are you?”<br />
"I… I’m Tom,” said <strong>the</strong> boy. "I... I fell asleep in<br />
this cupboard. And <strong>the</strong>n… Where am I?”<br />
"<strong>You</strong>’re at <strong>the</strong> <strong>Me</strong>rlin City rubbish dump”, said Lila.<br />
"The dump?” said Tom, puzzled and looking all<br />
around. "Oh no! My Mum must be worried sick!<br />
How am I going to find my way home?”<br />
2
Lila smiled at him with her big, brown eyes. "I’ll<br />
help you,” she said, gently.<br />
Then she looked at <strong>the</strong> cupboard. "That’s a nice<br />
cupboard”, she said. "Why did your parents throw it<br />
away?”<br />
"My Mum said it wasn’t modern enough so Dad<br />
bought a new one. But I like <strong>the</strong> old one. It makes<br />
a cosy den and I wanted to curl up in it just once<br />
more. I must have fallen asleep. And now <strong>the</strong>y’ve<br />
thrown me away too!”<br />
"Human grown-ups are a bit weird, aren’t <strong>the</strong>y” said<br />
Lila. She lifted a paw and pointed in <strong>the</strong> direction of<br />
<strong>Me</strong>rlin City. In <strong>the</strong> air above <strong>the</strong> city hung a grey<br />
blanket of smoke.<br />
"<strong>You</strong> see all that horrible smoke? That comes from<br />
<strong>the</strong> factories where human beings make things. Too<br />
many useless things that soon get thrown away.<br />
Why do <strong>the</strong>y do it? I wish <strong>the</strong>y would stop”.<br />
There were tears in Lila’s eyes. Tom sat down next<br />
to her and she snuggled up against him. He could<br />
feel her heart beating.<br />
3
"How can <strong>Me</strong>rlin City brea<strong>the</strong> with all that dirt in <strong>the</strong><br />
air?” said Lila. "And just smell <strong>the</strong> water in this<br />
stream. Yuck! It’s like hundreds of rotting fish.<br />
What happened to <strong>the</strong> lovely scent of <strong>the</strong> wild<br />
flowers? I’m scared of what’s happening, Tom”.<br />
Foxes are sensitive animals. And what’s more, <strong>the</strong>y’re<br />
always right.<br />
Lila stood up. "Come on”, she said: "<strong>Let</strong>’s go and<br />
find your Mum”.<br />
All around <strong>the</strong> dump was a tall wire fence. Lila led<br />
<strong>the</strong> way to a small hole in <strong>the</strong> fence. They were just<br />
going to crawl through it when <strong>the</strong> fox sensed<br />
danger. "Watch out!” she yelled: but it was too late.<br />
The man who looked after <strong>the</strong> dump was standing<br />
<strong>the</strong>re. Lila dived for cover behind an old washing<br />
machine. Tom tried to follow her but tripped.<br />
A strong pair of hands gripped him by <strong>the</strong> arms and<br />
lifted him up. "What are you doing here? <strong>You</strong> little<br />
pest!” roared <strong>the</strong> man. "Can’t you see <strong>the</strong> sign? It<br />
says KEEP OUT: STRICTLY PRIVATE”. His face was<br />
red and he looked very angry.<br />
4
"I… I got thrown away with <strong>the</strong> rubbish,” said Tom.<br />
"I’ve got to find my Mum. She must be very<br />
worried about me”.<br />
The man put Tom down. Then he sat on <strong>the</strong> old<br />
washing machine and looked at <strong>the</strong> boy kindly, with<br />
sadness in his eyes. "Don’t tell me <strong>the</strong>y’ve even<br />
started throwing away children!” he said.<br />
"No, it was an accident” answered Tom. "I fell<br />
asleep in <strong>the</strong> cupboard. Honest! Then my friend<br />
<strong>the</strong> fox found me.”<br />
Lila came out from her hiding-place. "Hello”, she<br />
said. "<strong>You</strong> look upset. What’s <strong>the</strong> matter?”<br />
The man was lost in thought for a moment. Then he<br />
said:<br />
"Listen, I’ve got something very important to tell<br />
you. Something that matters to <strong>the</strong> whole world.<br />
It’s a BIG secret, but because it’s so important I want<br />
you to tell everybody. Everybody! Do you promise?”<br />
"Oh yes! Yes!” answered Lila and Tom. They sat<br />
looking at <strong>the</strong> man, wondering what he had to say.<br />
The man took a deep breath and began…<br />
6
"If people aren’t careful about what <strong>the</strong>y throw<br />
away, <strong>the</strong>n <strong>the</strong> water, <strong>the</strong> air and <strong>the</strong> ground will<br />
become so polluted that we won’t be able to go on<br />
living”.<br />
"That can’t be true!” said Tom.<br />
7
"Oh yes it is” said <strong>the</strong> man. "People throw all sorts<br />
of things away. Machines, bottles of medicine, pots<br />
of paint, anything. And <strong>the</strong>y get rid of <strong>the</strong>ir rubbish<br />
any old how. But <strong>the</strong> rubbish has lots of poisonous<br />
stuff in it. Very dangerous stuff. And those poisons<br />
get into <strong>the</strong> soil where our food grows, <strong>the</strong> air we<br />
brea<strong>the</strong>, <strong>the</strong> water we drink. We’re gradually….”<br />
He stopped, unable to say <strong>the</strong> terrible word.<br />
"<strong>You</strong> mean we’re gradually killing ourselves?” asked<br />
Tom.<br />
The man nodded. "If we don’t do something about<br />
it, that’s what could happen. We ALL have to change<br />
our ways, before it’s too late”.<br />
8
For a minute or two, nobody spoke. Lila could<br />
hardly believe her ears. Tom just sat <strong>the</strong>re, frowning.<br />
Then <strong>the</strong> man went on:<br />
"If we want to be healthy, we must have a healthy<br />
planet. If <strong>the</strong> Earth gets sick, we all get sick!”<br />
"Yes, I see,” said Tom. "But… Oh, if only my Mum<br />
knew that!”<br />
9
The man looked up at <strong>the</strong> sky. His hands were<br />
trembling. "There’s ano<strong>the</strong>r secret I want to tell you”,<br />
he said. "A very important, hidden secret. Something<br />
terrible is happening high above us, way up in <strong>the</strong><br />
sky. <strong>You</strong> can’t see it. <strong>You</strong> can’t smell it. <strong>You</strong> can’t<br />
touch it. But it’s happening, and it’s very worrying”.<br />
"What is it?” asked Tom and Lila.<br />
"All around <strong>the</strong> Earth, way up in <strong>the</strong> sky, <strong>the</strong>re’s a<br />
layer of gas. It’s a gas called ozone. It’s very<br />
important to us. It lets in <strong>the</strong> good sunlight and<br />
keeps out most of <strong>the</strong> bad sunlight – <strong>the</strong> harmful rays<br />
that could o<strong>the</strong>rwise make us terribly ill. The ozone<br />
layer protects us from those rays. But <strong>the</strong> trouble is,<br />
we’re damaging <strong>the</strong> ozone layer. We’re using too many<br />
spray cans with stuff in <strong>the</strong>m that destroys ozone. So<br />
now <strong>the</strong> ozone layer has got a hole in it!”<br />
10
"A hole?” said Tom, worried.<br />
"Yes. If we don’t stop using those spray cans <strong>the</strong><br />
hole will get bigger and bigger, and we’ll end up<br />
getting lots of harmful rays of sunshine”.<br />
Lila frowned. Tom thought hard, staring up at <strong>the</strong><br />
clouds. Suddenly he said: "Right! I’m going home<br />
to Mum”.<br />
"Wait”, said <strong>the</strong> man: "I’ve got one more secret to<br />
tell you”.<br />
"No! No! I’ve had enough!” shouted Lila. "<strong>You</strong>r<br />
secrets are scaring us to death! We want to hear<br />
about nice things. Flowers and… and pretty things<br />
like that”.<br />
11
The man stood up. "Oh dear” he said. "I thought<br />
you were old enough to hear some serious secrets. I<br />
was wrong. I’m sorry. Oh well…”<br />
He picked up a stone and threw it into a big puddle.<br />
It made a splash. Lila looked at Tom and said,<br />
almost in a whisper: "Perhaps we’d better hear <strong>the</strong><br />
last secret?”<br />
"Yes, all right!” said Tom. "OK, I will listen to <strong>the</strong><br />
secret. I want to hear it, because I want to know<br />
everything! But please hurry up!”<br />
12
The man put his hand on Tom’s shoulder and said:<br />
"<strong>You</strong>’ll have to be brave to hear this one”.<br />
"But I am brave!” Tom shouted.<br />
"<strong>Me</strong> too!” barked Lila.<br />
"Right” said <strong>the</strong> man: "Here’s <strong>the</strong> third secret. By<br />
burning oil and gas and petrol we’re sending too<br />
much pollution up into <strong>the</strong> air, and <strong>the</strong> pollution is<br />
surrounding <strong>the</strong> whole earth. It’s like a<br />
greenhouse: it stops heat escaping from <strong>the</strong> Earth<br />
into space, so our planet is gradually heating up”.<br />
"So we won’t get so cold in winter!” said Lila,<br />
looking pleased.<br />
13
"Maybe not” said <strong>the</strong> man: "but it will also cause<br />
terrible storms. And think about <strong>the</strong> huge amounts<br />
of ice and snow at <strong>the</strong> North Pole and South Pole.<br />
If it melts and runs into <strong>the</strong> sea, <strong>the</strong> sea will rise<br />
and whole countries could be drowned. It’s very<br />
serious”.<br />
"Then we must break open <strong>the</strong> greenhouse and let<br />
<strong>the</strong> heat out!” said Tom. "We must stop burning<br />
all that oil and gas and petrol!”<br />
"<strong>You</strong>’re right,” said <strong>the</strong> man.<br />
14
"But that’s impossible!” exclaimed Lila. "<strong>You</strong> can’t<br />
ask humans to stop driving cars! And <strong>the</strong>y need all<br />
those factories! Oh dear…”<br />
"No!” answered Tom. "I’m not standing for that!<br />
There has to be a way! We’ll have to think up new<br />
ways of running factories! When I grow up I’m<br />
going to invent those new things. I’ll invent a car<br />
engine that doesn’t need petrol. And heating for<br />
houses that doesn’t need gas or oil. Tomorrow I’ll<br />
go to school by bike! I’ll…”<br />
VROOM!! Tom’s voice was suddenly drowned by <strong>the</strong><br />
roar of a car racing into <strong>the</strong> dump at top speed and<br />
screeching to a halt in a cloud of dust.<br />
15
Two people jumped out and two pairs of panicstricken<br />
eyes peered through <strong>the</strong> dust cloud. "Tom?<br />
Tom! Where are you? It’s Mummy, darling. TOM!”<br />
"Tom? It’s us! It’s Daddy!”<br />
"Oh DADDY! MUMMY! I’m HERE!”<br />
And Tom rushed into his mo<strong>the</strong>r’s arms. His Dad<br />
could hardly speak for joy.<br />
"Mummy, Daddy, I want you to meet my friends”.<br />
"Friends?”<br />
16
"Yes: Lila and <strong>the</strong> man. They’ve been looking after<br />
me. They’re over <strong>the</strong>re”.<br />
Tom turned round, but Lila and <strong>the</strong> man were<br />
nowhere to be seen.<br />
"But <strong>the</strong>y were <strong>the</strong>re” said Tom. "Lila and I, we…”<br />
"Lila?”<br />
"Yes, Lila <strong>the</strong> fox. And <strong>the</strong> man who looks after <strong>the</strong><br />
dump. Where can <strong>the</strong>y have gone?”<br />
"There’s nobody here,” said Tom’s dad. "<strong>You</strong>r<br />
imagination again!”<br />
"But…”<br />
"<strong>Let</strong>’s go home,” said his mum.<br />
17
Tom put his arms round his dad’s neck and<br />
whispered something in his ear. His dad<br />
smiled. "All right” he said.<br />
A few minutes later <strong>the</strong>y were driving along<br />
<strong>the</strong> road to <strong>Me</strong>rlin City – and on <strong>the</strong> car roof<br />
was Tom’s favourite cupboard!<br />
Standing right at <strong>the</strong> top of <strong>the</strong> rubbish<br />
dump, Lila sadly watched <strong>the</strong>m go. She felt<br />
she had just lost a friend.<br />
"Cheer up, Lila” said <strong>the</strong> man. "Tom had to<br />
leave us. He’s got an important job to do<br />
now”.<br />
19
"Yes, a very important job” agreed Lila.<br />
As <strong>the</strong> rubbish dump disappeared from view<br />
Tom looked out of <strong>the</strong> car window and stared<br />
up at <strong>the</strong> sky.<br />
"Dad, Mum… Do you want to know three<br />
secrets?” he asked.<br />
"Three secrets? Go on, Tom. We’re listening”.<br />
20
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