A Ray of Hope - Part 1
Fairy tales in Romanian.
Hope and Icecap Island
Once upon a time, on the small and beautiful Icecap Island, lived a little girl named Hope. Hope was kind, cheerful, and full of life. She loved her life on the island and played all day with her puppy, Zolki.
In the evening, her mother, Linda, would tell her stories about the golden angels of the sun, who came to touch the surface of the earth every morning.
— They come every morning, bringing light. Most of them return, but some stay with our friends Jess, to keep our planet warm and give us warmth, strength, energy, and food. So that boys and girls like you can play all day. — Friends Jess? — Yes. It's short for greenhouse gases. Methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen oxides. If they weren't here, our planet would be very cold and life would disappear. We owe a lot to our friends Jess.
— I love our friends Jess! — Wonderful, my dear. Now go to sleep. — But, Mama, what if all the golden angels of the sun decide to stay here with our friends Jess? What happens then? — Well, then the giant monster of global warming will wake up, and that's something we don't want. — The giant monster of global warming? — No more questions, my dear. Close your eyes and go to sleep. — Okay. Good night, Mama. — Good night, my sweet.
The Monster Awakens
The next day, when Hope woke up, she heard the village chief talking to her mother.
— Linda, the prophecy is coming true. I think it has begun. — What are you talking about? — The glacier in the north of our island has started to melt, and the heat. Oh, the heat is making things worse. GloWar is waking up.
Hope heard the conversation and immediately went to them.
— What's happening? — GloWar is waking up.
— GloWar? — It's nothing, Hope. Go brush your teeth. Breakfast is ready.
Pouting, Hope went to the bathroom. Behind her, she heard her mother whispering with Mr. Ramsey.
— Let's not scare the children. When is the leaders' meeting? — Tonight, at my house. — Good. I'll be there.
The Truth About GloWar
Hope heard everything. As she brushed her teeth, she began to imagine a monster. The monster had fiery eyes and breathed fire, melting the ice.
— No! — Hope?
Hope jumped when Linda entered. The water from the tap was running continuously.
— Is everything alright, my dear? And why are we wasting this precious water?
She turned off the tap and turned to Hope, who was scared.
— What is it, my dear? — Mama, please tell me what's happening! Is there really a monster?
Linda realized she couldn't hide the truth from her daughter any longer.
— Hope, I think it's time I told you about the monster.
Linda took Hope to the bedroom, they both sat on the bed, and she began to tell her everything.
— Do you remember I told you that the golden angels of the sun come down every morning, bringing light and warmth, and how some of them stay here with our friends Jess to help us? — Yes! And if they all decided to stay here, the giant monster of global warming would wake up! — Yes, that's right. The monster's name is GloWar, and he has been sleeping for centuries.
The Industrial World and the Greenhouse Effect
— But it seems he has woken up now. — What? But how? — Far from here, in the cities of London, New York, Shanghai, and Mumbai, people live very different lives. They don't take care of nature like we do. — But what do they do, Mama? — They live in the industrial world, where factories and machines work all day to mass-produce tools, food, clothes, houses, vehicles, and other things that make life simpler. — And that's not a good thing? — It was, until they started cutting down trees, and factories and machines began to produce tons of smoke, polluting the air. And producing a lot of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrogen oxides. — Our friends Jess! — My love, anything in excess is not a blessing, but a nuisance. — What do you mean, Mama? — Our friends Jess create a shield around the earth to trap the sun's heat, which keeps the earth warm. This is called the greenhouse effect. But if our friends Jess are in excess, this shield becomes thicker. The thicker the shield becomes, the more angels of the sun stay here. The more angels of the sun stay here, the warmer the earth becomes. And a hot earth could wake up GloWar, the global warming monster. He, with this immense heat, will then begin to melt the glaciers, causing sea levels to rise, huge floods, heatwaves, droughts, gales, storms, and ultimately the disappearance of many species.
A Desperate Solution: The Tree of Life
— Mama, this is not good! Don't people know about the global warming monster? — You'd be surprised how our species lives in ignorance. Some believe that it will never reach the point where the monster becomes more powerful than us. — That's very sad. — It is, my dear. But, don't worry. Mama will fix everything. Now go and have your breakfast.
That evening, Linda met with Mr. Ramsey and other island leaders at his house. Among them were Mrs. Cherry and Saint Wormwood.
— I would suggest we plant more and more trees to consume the excess carbon dioxide. — Oh, but while we plant trees, those in the city cut them down! — Deforestation is the main reason for the monster's awakening. — We have more carbon dioxide than trees to consume it. Why can't those in the city be more... more responsible? — Well, blaming others doesn't help us right now. Augustus, my grandson, informed me that our island is starting to sink because the water level is rising due to melting glaciers. We need solutions! Linda, do you have any suggestions? — At this moment, I can only think of one solution: The Tree of Life.
When she said that, everyone was astonished.
— You're not serious, are you? — Let's not rush, dears! — But, but it's our only option.
Hope's Decision
— Linda, I know you mean well. But no one has ever managed to reach the Tree of Life. The path to it is full of storms, violent waves, hurricanes, tornadoes. Let's say someone manages to get past them, the terrible cold will freeze any form of life on the spot. — But we have no other solution! The island is sinking! The monster is taking over the world! — Well, I'd rather stay here on the island until the end than go out into the world to face the inevitable! — I agree with him! — I hate to say it, but me too.
— As you wish! You prefer to stay and wait for the monster to unleash its fury upon us. But I will not let my child and future generations be deprived of a good and happy life. I will go to the Tree of Life. — Linda, no! Don't be foolish!
Linda was very determined. She stood up, and as she stood, she lost her balance, stumbled, and fell.
— Ah!
The others quickly went to her.
— Are you alright, Linda?
Just then, Hope, who had been waiting outside all this time, listening to their conversation, entered and ran to her mother.
— Mama! — Hope? What are you doing? A-ouch! Here! — Mama, are you alright? — I think I broke my leg. It hurts badly. Ah!
Linda was helped to sit on a chair. Saint Wormwood took out his bottle of healing potion and gave her a spoonful.
— This will help with the pain and heal you, but rest assured you won't be able to walk for the next few weeks, let alone go to the Tree of Life. — But someone has to go! Otherwise, we are all doomed! — Mama, I'll go!
Everyone in the room was surprised.
A Ray of Hope will continue in the next part, where Hope will embark on a journey to save the world. Will she reach the island of the Tree of Life? Will she succeed in saving the world from the monster GloWar? Will it be too late for humanity to solve the problem of global warming? Find out all the answers in Part Two of A Ray of Hope.
