As
Ahmed typed the URL, the Eco
Gate opened. The Kindness 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 Kindness
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 Kindness 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 Kindness
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 Kindness 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 Kindness Kids swallowed
nervously, watching, waiting.
"Press
it Ahmed," the kids gasped as
one. They held their breaths.
www.EcoTreasureMap.com/treasure.htm
