Sindhu was a young tribal girl, who lived in the dense forest of Uttarakhand long ago. She was illiterate, but she had great love for nature. She admired the trees with widespread branches, the beautiful wild flowers and the soft green grass.
One day a man with an axe came to the forest causing all the tribal people to rush in panic. They didn’t know who he was or where he came from. He came and started hacking at a Mahogany tree with all his might and after some time the great tree fell on the ground with a loud crash. Everyone was astonished. It was the beautiful tree on which robins had made their nests. It also gave them shade during the hot summers. The strange man had killed the tree with his tool.
Sindhu and the others were too afraid to protest. He chopped the wood, tied it with a rope and left. The next day, the man came again. But today Sunderlal plucked up courage and went straight to the tree that the man was about to cut and hugged it. Now it was the man’s turn to be surprised. Others including Sindhu did the same. The sight was amazing. The man saw that each and every tree was hugged by someone. He was disappointed and went back to the city while the forest people rejoiced.
Sunderlal Bahuguna is still known for his courage and quick-thinking that saved trees. Let’s follow in his footsteps and tell the world to protect trees and save Mother Earth.
Tracey James, VII B, Fr. Agnel School, New Delhi
