Rodrigo, only
six years of
age, thought he
was very wise
and, as much as
his mother tried
to guide him on
the need to
maintain good
and healthy
habits, would
always react
against them.
Not to mention
habits of
hygiene and
cleanliness!
- Rodrigo, go
brush your teeth!
- Why? I don’t
like brushing my
teeth!
- Because there
are bugs that
feed on the food
scraps that are
in our mouths
and that rotten
the teeth.
- Nonsense! I've
never seen them!
- They are very
small and we do
not see them,
but they exist.
|
The boy agreed
but kept acting
the same way as
before. Which
meant that he
did not brush
his teeth unless
his mother kept
an eye on him.
Thus he acted
with many other
things. He did
not like to
shower, tidy up
his room, put
his toys away,
throw things in
the trash...
One day his
mother saw him
throw a piece of
paper in the
street, and
ordered:
- Rodrigo, pick
up that piece of
paper you
|
 |
|
threw
on the ground,
dear. Trash
belongs in the
trash. |
- But, Mom, I do
not need to do
this! There are
street sweepers
who go around
sweeping the
trash from the
sidewalks.
- My dear,
everyone has the
responsibility
to do their part,
contributing to
the cleanliness
of their room,
the house, the
street, the
school, of all
the environments
in which we live
- his mother
said, full of
patience.
- How come?
- Because
everyone should
work together to
make our planet
a better place
to live, cleaner
and healthier.
So we should
help Nature, not
polluting our
environment or
the air we
breathe,
springs, rivers,
or the woods,
nothing. Get it?
- Got it, Mom.
Coincidentally,
at school a few
days later,
their teacher
talked about the
importance of
recycling,
reusing a great
part of the
materials that
are thrown away,
and she
explained:
- We all use a
lot of stuff and
generate a huge
amount of waste.
Amongst all of
this waste, a
lot can be
recycled, I mean,
reprocessed in
factories to be
used again. Only
the organic
material such as
food waste,
should be thrown
in the trash.
Others, such as
glass, paper,
plastic and
metal, can be
reused. Do you
understand?
Yes, they had
understood. At
that moment
Rodrigo
remembered the
conversation he
had had with his
mother, and
became
thoughtful.
 |
But change was
so hard! ...
Rodrigo could
not act
differently to
modify his
behaviour.
Before he
noticed, he had
done something
wrong like
littering,
messing up his
room, throwing
his snack
leftovers in the
schoolyard.
One day, the
weather was ugly
and heavy clouds
indicated that
soon it would
rain. When his
mother picked
him up at school
with an
umbrella, it was
already
drizzling.
- Come quick,
honey, so we do
not get wet.
|
And she was
right. Two
blocks later,
they had to stop
under an awning
to protect
themselves from
the heavy rain
that fell.
Rodrigo, soaking
wet, shivered.
When the rain
stopped, they
were fast to go
home because a
new downpour
threatened to
happen.
Getting near
their home, they
realized that
everything was
flooded. Their
street looked
like a pond.
- What happened,
Mom? - the boy
asked, surprised.
- Certainly,
honey, the sewer
drain must be
full of rubbish
and the
rainwater cannot
be drained.
- And if it
continues
raining, can the
water reach our
house? - the boy
asked, his eyes
widening in
surprise.
- Absolutely.
That is why we
should not
litter.
Rodrigo, very
worried and
feeling guilty,
thought, "Is it
because of the
garbage that I
threw on the
street?... And
what if our
house also gets
filled with
water?"
And he could
imagine seeing
their rooms,
furniture, his
clothes, toys
and books, all
wet.
They went around
the block, using
the other
sidewalk, and
managed, with
difficulty, to
get to their
house which was
on another
block.
Everything was
dry; the water
did not get
there.
Phew! Thank God!
- the boy
thought,
relieved.
His father, who
had arrived
earlier and was
watching
television,
showed them:
- Look at the
images of our
city. Entire
neighborhoods
are flooded!
Rodrigo saw
people walking
in the water,
whole houses
dipped in water
and a lot of
garbage floating
in the streets.
The reporter
said, warning
the population:
- Look! How much
damage just
because people
have the habit
of littering.
Many have lost
everything they
had. All that
was necessary
would be to take
a little bit
more care, and
none of this
would be
happening today!
Embarrassed,
Rodrigo decided
to change his
attitude. From
that day on, he
became a
defender of the
environment.
People thought
it was cute to
see him go from
house to house
in his
neighborhood,
talking about
the importance
of cleanliness
and the need of
recycling, so
that the planet
could be a
better world to
live in, where
everyone took
care of
preserving
Nature.
Aunt Celia
