Climate Champions
By L.P. Corcoran
A suffocating aura of misery and disgust hung
heavy in the air, the bitter scent of smoke clawing at the sloths nostrils. The
atmosphere was foul, forcing everyone to grimace as if they’d bitten into
something sour. Overhead, a blanket of grey slowly smothered the once vibrant
cyan sky, while a cold, sharp chill crept up their spines like a sly gremlin.
For miles, animals gazed in despair at the devastating state of their homes.
Everywhere, families huddled around the remnants of their lives, tears
streaming down their faces as they stared in horror at what had become of their
once beautiful surroundings. All that remained was a barren stump, a pitiful
stump.
The enemies stood nearby, laughing without
remorse for the destruction they had wrought. Axes in hand, they mindlessly
loaded tree after tree into the backs of their trucks, oblivious to the depth
of the harm they were inflicting. Or perhaps they knew and didn’t care. After
all, that’s mankind - the most dangerous animal of all.
This was when the animals realised they needed to
be stopped. For good.
That night, the animals gathered, mourning their
losses, when a loud thump was made. Everyone’s heads turned quickly, just to
see what looked like a child-like sloth climbing onto a tree stump.
“We can’t just keep letting them do this!” the
young sloth exclaimed, “it’s not fair, we have all lost our homes due to their
selfishness and it has to stop, otherwise it will just get worse. Do you all
want that?”
A babble of grumbles started to arise, which
could be quite clearly made out as a No. No, they certainly did NOT want that. Multiple
voices started to call out from the crowd.
“Yeah well how are we gonna do that then?”
“Yeah! What are we gonna do? After all, we are
only sloths, one of the slowest animals on planet earth!”
“I agree, I don’t think we will be able to take
down LOADS of people at our pace.”
The animals started a roar of chatter, worrying
what they were going to do.
“Silence, SILENCE!” hollered a deep, yet small
voice. “I have a plan.”
“What is it then?”
Over the next few days, families of sloths
reached out to other animals. They gathered powerful creatures, such as the
fierce jaguar, the loud parrot, the cheeky monkeys, and the wise turtle.
Together the plan was arranged, they were going to challenge the humans to a
fight.
The next morning, the animals finally approached
the humans. The jaguar, with his deep voice, stood boldly in front of the rest
of the animals. “We challenge you, this is OUR forest, not yours.” The humans
exchanged glances, followed by many snickers.
“If we win, you leave and never come back, if you
win well then we have no choice but to leave,” the jaguar said with confidence.
Amused by what they thought was an easy victory,
the humans agreed. They had no idea what was coming.
The following morning, the battle began. The
humans brought their weapons, thinking that they would WIN.
The monkeys swung from tree to tree, dropping
branches and rocks onto the humans, causing chaos. The parrot flew overhead,
squawking loudly to confuse them. The jaguar leaped out of the shadows, scaring
the humans away from their machines. Even the old turtle played his part,
leading the humans into a muddy area where they got stuck.
The sloths used their knowledge of the forest to
set traps. Vines wrapped around the humans legs, and hidden pits made them
stumble. The humans were overwhelmed. They had never expected such a fight from
the animals.
As the battle raged on, the humans quickly
realised they were losing. All of their machines and weaponry had been
destroyed and they had no choice but to surrender.
With the humans gone, the forest was safe, but
the animals knew they had to keep working together to protect it. They began to
rebuild, planting new trees and caring for their home.
Some humans realised their mistake and returned
to help restore the forest. The sloths watched from above, always prepared to
protect their home. Thanks to the animals bravery, the forest slowly came back
to life.
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