As
Ahmed typed the URL, the Eco
Gate opened. The Better World
Kids found themselves standing
at the entrance to a giant
maze. The loved a challenge
and they smiled as they stepped
inside.
The Eco Maze wound round and
round and round. It seemed
like they were walking for
hours, but it passed quickly
by for the kids because the
walls of the maze were painted
with a giant mural that stretched
out as far as they could see
in any direction. The pictures
on the wall showed amazing
scenes of beauty - mountains
and rivers and forests and
prairies, and human towns
and cities, too. It was exactly
as it would be like if there
were peace on earth.
Everything
in each scene was in balance,
and the Earth - the land,
the water and the skies --
were healthy. This was the
way the world should be, and
the kids were filled with
awe and wonder, and pride,
too, because they knew it
COULD BE this way. They knew
that they and lots of others
all around the world were
working to try to make it
so.
They
kids continued on until there
was a fork in the road. There
were arrows that pointed in
each of the roads' directions.
As they walked closer, the
Better World Kids began to
suspect that there would be
something written on the arrows
that would help them to make
their decision. Sure enough
that's exactly what they found.
On the first arrow they read,
"Might makes right."
On the second it said, "The
end justifies the means."
"The
path to a better world is
to treat the Earth and all
living creatures with respect,"
they read on the third arrow.
It seemed pretty obvious to
the kids which path to take.
Without hesitating, they took
the third branch.
The Better World Kids came
to quite a number of forks
in the road. Not every one
of the choices was as clear
as the first, so they took
their time at each crossroad
to choose the right way.
Finally they came to a bridge
that had a gate across it.
The bridge stretched over
a great chasm that seemed
to fall forever downwards.
On the other side of the bridge,
it looked like there was a
pot of gold glimmering in
the sunlight.
The kids' hearts were pounding.
Was that the eco treasure
they were hoping to find?
In front of the bridge there
was a sign and of course there
was a question on it. All
around the sign there were
a whole bunch of levers, and
the Better World Kids were
sure, of course, that they
would just happen to have
possible answers on them.
"How
can we help save the Earth?"
they read on the sign. Each
of the Better World Kids wandered
over to one of the levers
to check the choices. There
just happened to be enough
levers for them each to stand
in front of one.
"Don't
waste water," Sunanda read.
"This is the answer!" she
exclaimed.
"Reduce,
Reuse, Recycle," José read.
"Hang on, don't pull your
lever, Sunanda. Remember,
we already proved this
one is the answer they're
looking for!"
"Conserve
energy," Jamal read. "Turn
the lights off when you're
not using them."
"Paper
or plastic bag at the store?
Bring your own re-usable cloth
bag!" Maya's sign said.
"Mine's
good, too," Ling sighed. "Start
a compost bin..."
"Walk
or ride your bike instead
of driving for short trips,"
Johnny added.
"Plant
a tree or organize a community
garden," Sol read.
"Participate
in a community clean-up,"
Ling exclaimed.
""Borrow
things you don't use very
often or buy used, instead
of buying new things," Ahmed's
sign said.
"Spread
the word," Sunanda read with
a sigh. "What
are we going to do … they
all sound like good answers!"
Everyone agreed.
"Let's
pull them all," several of
the kids said at once. Everyone
agreed that was the best idea.
They each stood ready at their
levers, closed their eyes,
took a deep breath and pulled
them all at the same time.
"Did
anything happen?" they each
wondered. It didn't look like
anything had changed until
Ahmed glanced down at his
laptop. His cursor was typing
on its own. Everyone ran over
to see.
"www.EcoTreasureMap.com/treasure.htm"
they read as the cursor reached
the end of the hyperlink and
continued blinking.
All the Better World Kids
swallowed nervously, watching,
waiting.
"Press
it Ahmed," the kids gasped
as one. They held their breaths.
www.EcoTreasureMap.com/treasure.htm
