2012-13
LYCEE GIRAUX SANNIER
SHORT STORIES
The environment |
The Indignant “Today is a big day, the rebirth is near, shouted Starck, the humans leader. Are you with me?” The indignant answered together while they put their fist up. “Yes!” The group was gathering on the last ground, on the tallest tower of the ravaged city. The air conditioning of the building allowed them to take off the gas masks that they always had to wear not to die of asphyxia because of the pollution. “Nature is our own and single hope of survival. When we are over there, we will be able to lead a “normal” life once again, far from that awful pollution.” A thick mist had buried the city in an eternal night. Rare were the survivors, only the fittest had survived, not the hungry, the sick, the old... Moreover, pollution had caused many new diseases to emerge and numerous fights to develop. Only a tiny part of the forest had escaped from that horrible darkness. The animals lived in this part. To preserve it, they didn’t allow human beings to go into the forest, they were helped by Mother Nature. Nature was captivating. She was beautiful thanks to her colours, her greenery, her gigantic trees and the grace that the presence of animals brings. A lot of human beings only knew the asphalt and the skyscrapers of the city. The forest’s cleanliness tempted them. The human beings were determined to take it over in order to lead a better life. So they had created an army, they called themselves “The Indignant”. It was 2 p.m., human beings were on their way towards the area where the forest and the town met. It was a vast clearing: the ideal battlefield. Human beings had the advantage of being prepared. They had a plan, contrary to the animals who would be caught off their guard. Nevertheless, lookout trees, squirrels and birds informed the other animals of the arrival of the indignant. They started their “alert plan” and waited for the invaders in the clearing. When they arrived, the human beings were surprised that the forest was defended so well and was so well organized and well equipped. The animals had guessed the ill intentions of the indignant and had attacked them first. The battle raged. Shouts and crashing and banging of the swords rang out. The noise was deafening. Suddenly, the ground shook and a majestic voice raised. Everyone kept quiet. “I received life billions of years ago. At the beginning, all the species lived in harmony but, you, the human beings, decided you were better than all the other breeds. Firstly, you venerated me. Then you exploited, enslaved, hurt me and finally practically destroyed me. Indeed, in this day and age, I could only preserve a tiny part of my resources. The situation is serious because my nature is threatened. I have to preserve what remains. My fate is in your hands but you haven’t understood it yet…” The animal leader recovered and declared: “We have observed them for decades, they destroy our planet and we are here today in order to defend her... Today, we’re going to make them pay for their lack of conscience. We are ready to fight; the time had arrived for human beings to pay their debt to “Mother Nature,” said, Robbins, the animal leader.
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“If you fight, you’re going to destroy me completely. I ask you to respect each other and not to forget your past, to avoid doing the same errors. Keep in your mind that I’m absolutely necessary for your survival”, answered the Earth. “We understand our mistakes, the hell that we lived during the last years made us understand that we need nature.” Starck turned towards Robbins and told him: “We are ready to cohabit together, what about you?” “We can try”, answered Robbins, skeptically.”
Lucie, Guillaume & Clémentine. 2
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Eternal Love Franรงoise lived in a beautiful house surrounded by trees and a beautiful garden. She liked to grow her own vegetables and fruit. Ben, her husband, had left two days ago for the Vietnam War. She was terribly worried about him and kept thinking about him all day long. However, Ben was actually at home, but Franรงoise could not see him. Ben talked to her, asked her why she did not answer, he wondered why she ignored him, and if she was seeing someone else. He expected a warmer welcome. Ben went for a walk in the forest. He liked nature so much and had been an outspoken and active environmentalist when he was young. When having guests at home so he hurried up to his room without being noticed. He wanted to watch TV but he did not manage to switch it on so he went to bed. During the same evening, he came down and asked Franรงoise:
“Are you still mad at me?” Françoise sat, ate, her eyes filled with tears. Ben did not know what to do and went back to bed. The next morning, he saw a death announcement on the table. The burial was to take place in three days but he did not have time to see the name of the dead person. Three days later, he went to the funeral, he noticed that there were many of his friends. He approached the grave and he froze for a moment. He left as soon as he saw the name of the person. Ben walked straight into the woods, with his head down and his eyes filled with tears. He sat on the bench where he and Françoise had met for the first time. Then he remembered all the wonderful years they had spent together and went to the church where they had got married. He sat on the same bench and remembered the day when he had proposed, and after a while he saw the light that would lead him to a better world, where he would wait for Françoise. Reynald, Guillaume & Clémentin.
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Tibou One day, in the savannah, an elephant was walking. His name was Marius. He was looking for food when he heard a suspicious noise. He went to see what was going on. It was big Jacky, the lion. Jacky was starving and he wanted to eat Marius! Tibou, a gibbon, heard Jacky's roaring. Tibou heard Marius’s trumpeting! Suddenly, Tibou embarked in an unrestrained race to help his friend. When he arrived on the spot, Tibou saw Marius followed by Jacky. Not far away from there, the hyena, Katarina, observed the scene and decided to chase the elephant too. After a while, Marius felt exhausted and stopped. He was surrounded by his pursuers. Tibou arrived when the lion, the hyena and the elephant had joined the battle! Tibou was speechless. He invented a plan to help his friend. Meanwhile, Marius had fought a bloody fight against Jacky and Katarina. The gibbon went to the jungle and made a weapon with brambles and stones.
When he came back, the elephant was on the floor, ready to be eaten. Tibou, summoning all the bravery he could, attacked his opponents with weapons. Jacky and Katarina looked straight into his eyes, intimidated by this terrible club that might terribly hurt them. They knew that if they attacked Tibou, the Gibbon, they would not win and would be hurt to top it all. But in the savannah, fighting to eat and survive is necessary ... It is called the survival of the fittest. 6
They decided to attack the gibbon,that would make a good dessert after the elephant. Their decision was motivated by the fact that gibbon meat was said to be delicious, tasty, juicy, exactly what meat was supposed to be like! A bloody battle followed during which the monkey gave critically hit the hyena several times. The lion retreated quietly and climbed into trees while the monkey kept fighting the hyena. When Tibou had finished, he went to the tree where the lion had taken refuge. But suddenly a lightning fell on the lion. In a second, the monkey took shelter in a cave, dragging his friend Marius. The tree Jacky was on got into fire and the entire savannah heard his screams of pain. Then rain fell on the savannah, putting out the fire. Tibou left and went to see what had happened to Jacky. His body was the color of a cooked steak. The monkey brought the warm body of a lion and the cut it out. He shared bits with his friend Marius and had a good feast. The lion meat lasted for a week, until Marius had recovered from his injuries. Tibou was not proud of what they had done, but they had to save their dearest friend. And in the process they had invented the barbecue!!!!!
Moral: It serves no purpose to be the strongest when nature is above us all! That is why we must preserve nature so that the world can survive ‌ Thibault, Ryan & Valentin.
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