Max, the Emu’s Warning

A story about deforestation, listening to warnings, and protecting forests before it’s too late

Drawing by the author, Shubhansh Chaturvedi

Once, there was an adorable emu in a forest. His name was Max. He was young, playful, and naïve.

One day, while he was having fun, he heard a noise. Out of curiosity, he went to check where the noise came from.

When he reached the spot, he stretched his long neck through the shrubs, and saw some humans cutting down trees. They were using humongous machines which made him tremble and become anxious.

Without a second thought, he ran away and informed his parents about what he had seen. However, his parents shrugged it off and belittled Max saying, “You must have gone too far from the forest. That’s why you saw them. They won’t be chopping trees inside the forest. Don’t worry!”

After reassuring, they walked away. When the night fell, all of them slept with the moonlight shining over them.

Suddenly, they all woke up to loud, nerve-racking sounds. They found huge machines slicing down the trees. All the animals were running helter-skelter and were crying for help. But they could do nothing.

The humans did not care about them at all and destroyed their homes completely. 

Moral of the story: You should always listen to everyone, whether young or old, as they might be trying to alert you about danger. Further, you should care about your fellow beings and animals.