(music)
Once there was a little boy who liked to visit his friends
the trees. Hello, tree
Hello, boy. How's the little fella today?
now the little boy had a lot of fun with his friends
and learns some very interesting facts about the trees
the roots hold vital soil in place and prevent erosion
their leaves replenish the oxygen in the air
their summer shade preserves the moisture
their falling leaves enrich and protect the soil
making a better world for all of us. Yes, trees are
everybody's friends and the little boy had a wonderful time whenever he went to
the forest
but there were other people in the forest too, and some
were not very careful
one left a camp fire burning
one failed to brush out a cigarette
Now with the forest burned away, the little boy doesn't
recognizes favorite spot, he can hardly recognize his little friends
the fire was out in the beautiful forest was gone
but that was not the end of the story one day
the little boy got to wondering about things. He wondered about the birds
and the bees
he wondered about the clouds and the rain. When he wasn't wondering about things,
he liked to play in the stream. One day the stream ran brown with mud and overflowed its banks
This had him wondering
where all the mud came from. "I'll tell you,"
said Smokey the Bear
Last summer, a careless camper started a fire that burned up a whole forest
when the rain started, there wasn't a leaf
or blade of grass to stop the water
there was a great loss of property and wildlife
This catastrophe taught the little boy about the destruction that comes after a
forest fire
and why it's so important that new trees be grown
now it just so happened the little boy had a green thumb
and like anyone with a green thumb
his luck with growing things was amazing snapdragons,
juleps, radishes,
or watermelon. Everyone believed he had some magical power. One day some people asked
the little boy for help
A fire caused by careless person had destroyed a forest
The people sure the little boy could grow new trees right away
he hoed, he watered, he sprayed
but nothing happened. There is no magic way of replacing a forest
trees take time. It's up to all of us to protect and preserve the forests we have
and maybe we can all learn a lesson from Smokey's little friend
who was thankful for his blessings
he was thankful for his good health, he was thankful
for the sparkling stream, and all his little friends
he was thankful for the beautiful forest
but there were other people who didn't seem to appreciate the forest
they left camp fires burning
and they failed to crush out cigarettes
"That's a good job," said
Smokey the Bear. But it takes more than one junior forest ranger when so many
people are careless
Be sure you're never responsible for this terrible destruction.
So remember only you can prevent forest fires
It has been our pleasure to present the preceding story of Smokey and the
Little Boy
in cooperation with the Advertising Council as a public service