A day in the forest

One summer I went to the forest. Of course, it wasn't a big real forest somewhere outside the city. It was our local forest near the house. It was all well-trodden for a long time, with numerous paths and traces of old bonfires.

I was walking along the path and thinking about how much harm man does to nature. Here is an old campfire, burnt logs and driftwood, and around the bottles, cans, just some papers. The forest around is so wonderful, all shining in the sunlight, birds are singing and grasshoppers are ringing in the grass, and here is an ugly spot.

A squirrel ran past along the trunk of a tree and suddenly sat down and looked at me intently with its clear eyes. She was moving her lips and seemed to be talking to me:

• Come on, come on, what are you going to do now?

And I winked at her and replied:

• Don't be afraid, squirrel, I won't let your forest offend.

I returned home, took a large garbage bag and went back to the forest. I collected all the garbage in the clearing and it became again the way any clearing in the forest should be - clean and green. Pleasing to the eye.