By Vartika Saraswat, Class IX E
Pooja was coming out of her history class. She saw Ms. Mary in the corridor. Suddenly, two boys rushed in and asked Ms. Mary to come to the playground as fast as she could, something had gone wrong. Pooja also followed them to find out what had happened.
When Pooja reached the playground, she noticed Ms. Mary and some other students looking very upset. One of the students had tears in her eyes. Pooja asked one of the boys standing there what had happened. But he was also as clueless as Pooja.
Soon, the principal Mr. Shankar also arrived at the scene. The boys who had called Ms. Mary told Mr. Shankar that a squirrel had been hit by the ball while the boys were playing football and it had died. Mr. Shankar scolded the boys saying that it was just a small incident and that there was no need to create such confusion over a silly matter.
When Pooja heard Mr. Shankar saying this, she couldn’t help speaking up. She said, “Sir, aren’t we all a part of nature? If a speechless animal has been harmed, why shouldn’t we feel sad? Should we be sympathetic only towards human beings and not towards animals who have as much right to live as any of us?”
Mr. Shankar replied, “You are right my dear. It was a mistake. Sometimes even we adults need these reminders. Thank you.”
Pooja got some of her friends together and with the school’s support, they installed a small fountain near the playground for birds and squirrels. She decided to become an animal activist when she grows up.
