We did not decide to keep a cat; the cat decided for us. One rainy night a thin gray animal walked into our garden and sat under the table as if it had always lived there. My father said we could not feed it. (11) In the morning there was an empty dish by the door, and nobody said a word about who filled it. We called her Bean, because she was small and round. She never learned to come when we called, (12) she always knew when someone in the house was sad. (13) we understand that we are not really her owners. We have never had to say goodbye to her; she is simply an animal who has agreed to stay, (14) that feels like enough.
When people speak about saving animals, they usually think of the lion or the bear. Few think about the bee. (15) About one third of the food on your table needs an insect to help the flower make fruit. No bees, no apples; no bees, no beans, and no tofu. The latest count shows that bees have dropped in many countries, (16) farmers use strong chemicals and cut down the wild flowers along field lines. Some cities now leave the grass in one section of every park tall. (17), bees have somewhere to rest in the middle of the town. It takes little effort, (18) it may matter more than a new zoo.
Sam: Hey, our class is going downtown to the zoo on Friday. Here is my ticket.
| CITY ZOO · Student Group |
|---|
| Friday, April 12 |
| Enter before 10:00 · East Gate |
| Bear House closed for repair |
| Student 60 · Teacher free |
Joy: Only sixty dollars? That is cheap. Which animal do you want to see?
Sam: The monkeys, and I hope the insect room is open. I want a photo of a butterfly.
Joy: Bring water. Last time we walked for four hours and I had no rest at all.
Welcome to the Animal Corner behind Room 12.
Two students look after the corner each week. Their names are on the line beside the door. If an animal looks sick, tell a teacher at once; do not try to help it yourself.
The corner is open at noon and after school, but not in the morning, because the animals rest then. Students who come in the morning will be asked to leave. On Friday we clean everything, so the corner closes at three.
Dear Mrs. Lee,
I live in the house at the corner of Bean Road, two doors from yours. Yesterday evening I saw a gray cat with a short tail under my car. It would not come to me, and it left before I could look closely.
I remember that your cat is gray. Is yours still at home? If it is missing, I can leave some food in my garden tonight and send you a photo if it comes back. Please do not worry too much; cats certainly stay away for a day or two sometimes and then walk in as if nothing has happened.
My phone is on all evening. Just knock if you would rather talk.
Chen Ping
Ask a child to name an animal in danger, and you will hear lion, whale, or bear. You will not hear the name of an ant, and yet more than half of all animals on this planet are insects.
This matters because insects do work that nothing else can do. They help flowers make fruit, they clean away dead leaves, and they feed the birds and frogs above them. Take them away, and the line of life above them falls too.
Insects are also simple to help. A garden with a few wild corners, a light turned off at night, a section of grass left tall: none of this costs money, and you do not have to be a genius to do such things. The hardest part is not the effort. It is learning to care about an animal we have been taught to brush away.