KIGALI PARENTS SCHOOL, P.6 VENUS

Long ago before you and I were born, man and nature used to be very good friends. They shared everything they owned. Nature gave man, rain, food and the beautiful sunshine to enjoy. Man cared for nature by looking after the animals and watering the plants.

Man depended on nature and nature depended on man. The two friends lived in harmony and they were greater than you can possibly imagine.

But nature had a secret that man didn’t know. Nature had not told man that something he was doing was bothering him. So one evening he decided to talk to his friend about it.

"My friend I have something important to talk about,” said nature calmly.

"I am listening,” replied man.
"Well the thing is, you have started setting up industries and they bother me a lot,” said nature.
"So?” asked man.

"So my friend I wanted to ask you to stop because a lot of my belonging is being affected too,” said nature trying to sound calm and reasonable.

Man was not impressed and he reacted the same way nature expected him to.

"Oh nature! Stop being unreasonable, we are in the twentieth century for crying out loud!” said man rather stubbornly.

"Oh will you be serious?” asked nature anger rising in his face.

"Are you considering my loses if I stop setting up the industries? The industries make me rich and famous they give my people jobs, produce a lot of useful things like cars,” said man furiously.

"You are so selfish my friend,” said nature.
"Ahhh, so now I am being selfish and I have been taking care of all your creatures and plants,” said man angrily.

"Yes you have been taking care of them because you know very well that they benefit you! Stop yelling at me because I have spent half of my life trying to cope with some of your activities.

Don’t you think that some of the things you do to me like bush burning and deforestation are not good?” nature said furiously.

"Well, I have lived my life putting up with you too. Don’t you think all those volcanic mountains you put up there don’t bother me? Well they do because they burn my property” man said.

The two friends sulked for a while in silence then they realized that they had been good friends. So they couldn’t allow such an argument to separate them.

Nature said, "We have been good friends for a long time and we shouldn’t let an argument come between us. Man agreed and decided to reduce on all his bad activities.

Nature was greatful and said, "Thank you my friend I always knew you are hot tempered but understanding.”
So the two friends agreed to do as they promised.

But some people in man’s family still carry out poaching, bush burning and deforestation, so nature created poisonous plants and cunning animals like lions to teach them a lesson.

We should all learn not to be selfish and protect our nature for our own good.

Ends