About the environment

14 KH-40-01-117-EN-C

Let me tell you a secret about the environment

OFFICE FOR OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

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European Commission

European Commission Let me tell you a secret about the environment Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities 2001 — 20p. — 16,2 x 22,9 cm ISBN 92-894-1714-5

Script: Benoît Coppée Illustrations: Nicolas Viot Technical production: Qwentès More information about environment policies can be found at the DG Environment website on the Europa Server: http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment Copies of this publication are available free-of-charge while stocks last from: Information Centre (BU-9 0/11) Environment Directorate-General European Commission 200 rue de la Loi B-1049 Brussels Fax: (32-2) 299 61 98 E-mail: ENV-PUBS@cec.eu.int

The sun rises over the Merlin City rubbish dump.

A faint sound is heard. Lila the fox pricks up her ears, trying to figure out what it is. No, it's not a bird. There it is again ? It seems to be coming from that cupboard over there. Lila moves nearer.

The cupboard door is slightly ajar. First a small shoe appears. Lila gets curious. Then a leg emerges.

Lila wonders what on earth it can be.

The little leg turns into a little child.

Oh… Gently, Lila moves closer.

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Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2001 © European Communities, 2001 Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.

Printed in Belgium Printed on recycled paper

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- My… My name’s Tom, says the child. I… I hid myself in a cupboard… And then…

Where am I ?

- You're in the Merlin City dump, says Lila.

- The dump ?

Tom looks around.

- Wow ! Mummy must be worried sick.

How am I going to find my way home ?

Lila's eyes look strong but gentle. They seem to say, “I’m going to help you, Tom”.

Lila turns her big brown eyes towards the child and says: - Grown-ups are a bit weird. Your cupboard is still perfectly good. Why did they throw it away ?

- My Mum said it was too old. Dad bought a new one. I wanted to sleep in my favourite cupboard one last time.

And so… here I am !

Lila points with her paw towards Merlin City, which lies under a blanket of grey smoke.

- I’m frightened, said the fox. Humans produce too much, a lot of things that are no use at all.

The huge cloud of grey smoke you can see over the city comes from all those factories, busy making too many things, Tom. Oh… There are tears in Lila’s eyes. The landscape becomes blurred. She hugs Tom. He can hear her heart beating.

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- Look, Tom. I think Merlin City is going to suffocate soon. Just smell the water in this stream. Yuck ! It smells like hundreds of rotting fish. What’s happened to the lovely scent of the flowers ? I’m scared, Tom… Foxes are sensitive animals. And what's more, they're always right.

Lila loosens her grip.

- Come on, Tom. Let’s go look for your Mum. To get out of the dump you have to crawl through a tiny hole in the fence. Lila squeezes through.

Suddenly, she senses danger.

She stands up.

- Look out ! she yells.

But it’s too late. There's a man standing there.

It's the man who looks after the dump. Lila hides behind a washing machine. Tom stumbles, then he feels two large hands holding his arms very tight.

The man lifts him up.

- What are you doing here, you little wretch ?

It’s strictly forbidden to come in here! he says harshly.

His bright red cheeks look as if they're going to explode. His eyes look really angry.

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- What on earth are you doing here ?

- I… I got thrown away with the rubbish from Merlin City. I've got to find my Mummy.

I’m sure she’ll be worried about me !

The man lowers Tom to the ground. He sits down on an old washing machine. His expression changes, and now he suddenly looks kind. But no, he looks more sad than anything else. Something seems to be bothering him. He looks around at the dump.

Lila and Tom swear to tell everyone. The man takes a deep breath and then he begins…

- If people aren't careful about what they throw away, the water, the air and the ground will become so polluted that it will be impossible for us to survive !

- They’ve even started throwing children away now ?

He looks worried.

- No, it was an accident ! I fell asleep in the cupboard. Honest !

- I believe you, little boy. All the same…

Lila comes over.

- You look sad, sir ?

The man is lost in thought for a moment. What he has to say is very important. What he has to say affects all human beings.

- I’m going to tell you a BIG secret. Normally you shouldn’t tell a secret to anyone, should you ?

But I would like you to tell everybody my secret.

You have to tell everybody !

Promise me you will !

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- Oh ! says Tom. That can’t be possible !

- Yes it is, little boy. People throw everything away.

They get rid of their things any old way. All kinds of machines. Medicines. Paint. You name it.

Their rubbish is full of poisons. And those poisons are contaminating the Earth. We're poisoning the ground, the air… and the water. What we are doing is…

The man can't bring himself to say it.

- Mister, do you mean we are… killing ourselves ? asks Tom.

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- Yes. If we don’t do something about it, that’s what could happen. But it’s not too late. We ALL have to help.

None of them speak for a while. Lila can’t believe her ears. Tom is frowning furiously.

The man goes on: - For our own health, we need a healthy planet.

If the Earth gets sick, we all get sick !

Really ! said Tom. But… Oh, if only Mum knew all this !

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The man looks towards the sky.

- I have another secret to tell you.

A very important, hidden secret.

The man sits down. His hands are trembling slightly.

He says: - Terrible things are happening high above us, way up in the sky. You can't see them. You can't smell them. You can't touch them. But they're there, and they're very worrying.

- What ? said Tom and Lila.

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- High above us, way up in the sky, the Earth is surrounded by a huge layer of gas. That gas protects us. It filters the good and bad rays of sunlight, because the sun sends us harmful rays too. Those harmful rays can cause terrible illnesses. We're using too many products that damage this layer around the Earth. It's in a bad shape. It's got a hole in it now !

- A hole ? says Tom, looking worried.

- Yes. If we don’t try to mend the hole, we could end up getting lots of harmful rays of sunshine some day !

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Lila frowns. Tom is thinking hard. He's staring up at the clouds. Suddenly he says: - Right ! I’m going home to my Mum !

- Wait, said the man. I want to tell you another secret.

- NO ! I've had ENOUGH ! shouts Lila. Your secrets are scaring us to death ! We want to hear about nice things ! Flowers and things like that !…

The man gets to his feet. He stares at his hands a while, then he looks at Tom, and then at Lila.

He says: - Too bad… I thought you were old enough to hear some serious secrets … Too bad… I was wrong.

The thing is… oh well,…

The man picks up a stone. He throws it into a puddle. It makes a splash. Lila turns towards Tom. She squeezes her lips, then opens them.

- Maybe we'd better listen to his secret ?

- Yes, alright !, answers Tom. OK ! I’ll listen to the secret ! I WANT to hear the secret ! Because I WANT to know everything ! EVERYTHING !

But be quick !

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The man draws closer to Tom. He says: - You have to be brave to hear the last secret.

- I AM brave ! cries Tom. - Me too ! says Lila.

- You both sound very grown-up, smiles the man.

Here’s the third secret. We are sending too much pollution up into the air and the pollution is creating a kind of greenhouse overhead.

The heat from the Earth can no longer escape into the universe. And the heat is heating up the planet.

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- It won’t be so cold then ! points out Lila.

- It mightn't be so cold, agrees the man, but glaciers and icebergs could start melting.

The seas and the rivers could rise.

Whole countries could be submerged.

It’s very serious.

- The cloud of pollution could be broken up ! suggests Tom. - Yes, that’s right.

- It’s impossible ! argues Lila. You can’t ask humans to stop driving cars ! They need all those factories !

Oh…

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- NO ! says Tom. No, I’m not standing for that !

There has to be a way ! We have to dream up new ways of running factories ! I’ll invent new things when I grow up. I’ll invent a petrol-free engine. From now on I’ll go to school by bike, or by bus ! I'll…

Tom is interrupted. A loud noise shatters the peace and quiet. VROOM ! A car rushes into the dump at top speed, throwing up a huge cloud of red and brown dust. The car screeches to a halt.

Two pairs of panic-stricken eyes emerge from the cloud of dust.

- TOM ? TOM ? Where are you ? It’s your Mummy, darling ? To-om…

- TOM ? It’s us ! It’s Daddy !

- OH ! MUM… ! MUMMY ! DADDY… And Tom rushes towards his mother. His dad seems to be overcome with emotion.

- Mummy, Daddy, these are my friends !

- Friends ?

- Yes, Lila and the man… Come on… They’ve been looking after me… They’re…

Tom turns around, but… Lila and the man have disappeared.

- Honest, says Tom. They were there…

With Lila, I… That is…

- Lila ?

- Yes, the fox ! And the man… The man who looks after the dump… Where have they gone ?

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- There’s nobody there ! says his dad.

- But… - Let’s go home ! suggests his mother.

Tom goes over to his dad and whispers a few words in his ear.

His dad smiles at him.

- All right ! he says.

They drive off towards Merlin City. On the roof is Tom’s favourite cupboard ! Meanwhile, Lila is standing on top of the rubbish dump, feeling a bit down. She's just lost a friend.

The old man is feeling sad too.

- Tom had to leave us, Lila, he says.

He has an important task now !

- An important task, whispers Lila.

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The car disappears over the horizon. Tom looks out the window, up at the sky.

- Dad, Mum, do you want to know the three secrets ?

- Three secrets ?…

Go on, Tom, we’re listening…

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