Smart Primary-school Kid
RELIGION, ETHICS AND PHILOSOPHY
Candlewick
Once upon a time there was a gardener, who was
growing vegetables in his little garden in the backyard
of his little red house. Over the entire summer, the
gardener carefully nursed his vegetables and when
the autumn came, it was time to harvest. The harvest
was good; the carrots were especially plentiful. It
was now time to put the carrots into bags, so that
they could be sold at the market of the nearby town.
The gardener collected the carrots in large bags
and closed them with a piece of string. While he was
busy tying of the bags, a piece of string fell down on
the ground. The wind blew it under a currant bush,
where the gardener couldn’t find it no matter how
hard he looked for it. Luckily there was plenty of
string left and the work could continue. Finally the
gardener was ready to leave to the market with his
carrots.
At the same time a red fox was on his daily stroll near the gardener’s house. Whilst passing the currants,
the fox noticed something unusual lying there underneath the bushes. An abandoned piece of string! He
picked up the piece of string and thought of using it, when he was trying to catch the hens. Chicken would
really make a delicious meal. The fox was already imagining the delicious smell of a fried chicken in his nose.
Dazed by the thought of the smell, he started to run and accidentally dropped the piece of string from his
mouth onto the forest path.
A boy rabbit named Rob was hopping along the forest path singing heartily. He was going to meet his friend
Betsy. Suddenly Rob stopped: was there something lying among the blueberries? He took a couple of steps
backwards and went to take a closer look at it. He saw the piece of string that the red fox has dropped right
there. Rob was very pleased and decided to give it as present to his dear friend Betsy. She could make a
ribbon bow out of it. What a nice surprise for her!
And naturally, Betsy was really pleased with the present. They tied a bow out of string and put it on Betsy’s
head. Then they went out to play. However, the string got snagged by a branch of a bush while they were
playing and it dropped from Betsy’s head down to the ground Betsy didn’t notice anything and therefore
the piece of string was left there lying on the ground in the woods.
After a little while, whilst Mr. Squirrel was searching for cones, he heard distant cries coming from the
direction of the forest pond. Sounds somehow familiar, thought Mr. Squirrel. I had better run over there fast
and see, if somebody needs help. He started to run towards the pond and the closer he came, the more
scertain he was that he knew the voice. ”That’s my own son, Ned”, the squirrel cried out. He ran faster and
faster and right there near the pond, he noticed a piece of string which was clinging to a bush. Perhaps this
could come in handy, Mr. Squirrel thought and took it along.
Teaching material on waste prevention 2010
HSY Waste Management 1 (2)
On the shoreline, poor Mr. Squirrel saw his son Ned
splashing in the water. Ned’s head came up to the
surface and sank again and he was gasping for breath.
“Daddy, help me, please”, he was yelling in a shocked
voice. Mr. Squirrel didn’t hesitate a moment and threw
the other end of the string to Ned, who clung to it
immediately. Mr. Squirrel managed to pull Ned to the
shore. ”And now we can go home and get something
warm”, said father Squirrel once the situation was
calming down. The piece of string was left on the
shoreline of the pond. Maybe somebody else could find
it useful again.
The piece of string remained there for a long time. Later
in the autumn, it started to snow and the string was
buried under heaps of snow. Christmas was coming.
The Mother Mouse had a hidden food storage under the ground of the pond shoreline. She had hidden
some seeds there for the winter, which she had been getting from the gardener. Now at Christmas time, it
would be the right moment to take something out from the food storage and put it on the Christmas table.
Mother Mouse started to dig a tunnel through the snow towards her food storage. The surprise was great,
when she first came across the piece of string. She decided to take it back home.
At the home of the mice family, Christmas preparations were in full flow. Mother Mouse thought of making
candles and got the idea to use the string, she had found under the snow, as a wick. Making candles was
fun! All the family members, including the children, took part in the fun. When the candles were made and
ready, they decided to give one of them to the gardener. He had been so kind and given them the seeds,
which they now had on their Christmas table and whats more, it is a habit to give presents to one’s friends
and acquaintances. The candle was put into the garden lantern of the gardener.
Christmas eve came. The gardener was sitting alone in his little house
and watching out of the window. His Christmases were always like this,
lonely and a little bit sad. Then he suddenly saw the candle lit up in his
garden lantern. How beautiful it looked! The gardener felt all warm inside
and now Christmas felt like a real Christmas to him. Where did the candle
come from?, the gardener was wondering. He could not even imagine
that the candle wick was actually the same piece of string which came
from his own carrot bag and which had dropped down underneath the
currant bushes.
Elisa Pesola, Anni Somerma, Yrjö Teinilä
QUESTIONS
•
What other things, like the piece of string, can be used over and over again and how?
•
Can you find new ways to use your old things?
•
Why is it worthwhile using old things anew and not always buy new stuff? Let’s think why and how to
save the natural resources and money for instance and also what sentimental values old things have.
Teaching material on waste prevention 2010
HSY Waste Management 2 (2)