The Great Kapok Tree

This is a story about the importance of rainforests and trees, told through a tale called The Great Kapok Tree. The story highlights the various animals that depend on the rainforest and how humans can harm them. The man in the story initially starts chopping down a tree but is convinced by the animals to stop. The story emphasizes the interdependence of all living things and the need to protect rainforests. The narrator mentions that they will discuss more about the effects of human actions on trees and rainforests in future discussions. All right guys, so we are going to start talking about the rainforest and its importance for us as people as well as the importance that it holds for the animals that live there. So to get us started, I am going to read a tale of the Amazon rainforest. It's called The Great Kapok Tree by Lynn Cherry. This is going to help us kind of wrap our heads around the number of animals that live in the rainforest and the effect that we as humans can have on them. Two men walked into the rainforest. Moments before, the forest had been alive with the sounds of squawking birds and howling monkeys. Now all was quiet as the creatures watched the two men and wondered why they had come. The larger man stopped and pointed to a great kapok tree. Then he left. The smaller man took up the axe he carried and struck the trunk of the tree. Quack, quack, quack. The sounds of the blows rang through the forest. The wood from the tree was very hard. Chop, chop, chop. The man wiped off the sweat that ran down his face and neck. Quack, chop, quack, chop. Soon the man grew tired. He sat down to rest at the foot of the great kapok tree. Before he knew it, the heat and hum of the forest had lulled him to sleep. A boa constrictor lived in the kapok tree. He slithered down its trunk to where the man was sleeping. He looked at the gash the axe had made in the tree. Then the huge snake slid very close to the man and hissed in his ear. Senor, this tree is a tree of miracles. It is my home, where generations of my ancestors have lived. Do not chop it down. A bee buzzed in the sleeping man's ear. Senor, my hive is in this kapok tree and I fly from tree to tree and flower to flower collecting pollen. In this way, I pollinate the trees and flowers throughout the rainforest. You see, all living things depend on one another. A troop of monkeys scampered down from the canopy of the kapok tree. They chattered to the sleeping man. Senor, we have seen the ways of man. You chop down one tree, then come back for another and another. The roots of these great trees will wither and die, and there will be nothing left to hold the earth in place. When the heavy rains come, the soil will be washed away, and the forest will become a desert. A toucan, a macaw, and a cock of the rock flew down from the canopy. Senor, squawked the toucan, you must not cut down this tree. We have flown over the rainforest and seen what happens when you chop down a tree. Many people settle on the land. They set fires to clear the underbrush, and soon the forest disappears. Where once there was life and beauty, only black and smoldering ruins remain. A bright and small tree frog crawled along the edge of a leaf. In a squeak of a tree frog, the tree frog flew away. A bright and small tree frog crawled along the edge of a leaf. In a squeaky voice, he piped into the man's ear. Senor, a ruined rainforest means ruined lives, many ruined lives. You will leave many of us homeless if you chop down this great kipok tree. A jaguar had been sleeping along the branch in the middle of the tree. Because his spotted coat blended into the dappled light and shadows of the understory, no one had noticed him. Now he leapt down and potted silently over to the sleeping man. He growled in his ear, Senor, the kipok tree is home to many birds and animals. If you cut it down, where will I find my dinner? Four tree porcupines swung down from branch to branch and whispered to the man. Senor, do you know what we need to live? Oxygen. And Senor, do you know what trees produce? Oxygen. If you cut down the forest, you will destroy that which gives us all life. Several anteaters climbed down the kipok tree, with their young clinging to their backs. The unstriped anteater said to the sleeping man, Senor, you are chopping down this tree with no thought for the future. And surely you know that what happens tomorrow depends upon what you do today. A big man tells you to chop down a beautiful tree. He does not think of his own children, who tomorrow must live in a world without trees. A three-toed sloth had begun climbing down from the canopy when the men first appeared. Only now did she reach the ground. Plotting over ever so slowly to the sleeping man, she spoke in her deep and lazy voice, Senor, how much is beauty worth? Can you live without it? If you destroy the beauty of the rainforest, on what would you feast your eyes? A child from the Yanomama tribe who lived in the rainforest knelt over the sleeping man. A tribe who lived in the rainforest knelt over the sleeping man. He murmured in his ear, Senor, when you awake, please look upon us all with new eyes. The man awoke with a start. Before him stood the rainforest child and all around him, staring, were the creatures who depended upon the great kipok tree. What wondrous and rare animals they were. The man looked about and saw the sun streaming through the canopy. Spots of bright light glowed like jewels amidst the dark green forest. Strange and beautiful plants seemed to dangle in the air, suspended from the great kipok tree. The man smelled the fragrant perfume of their flowers. He felt the steamy mist rising from the forest floor. But he heard no sound, for the creatures were strangely silent. The man stood and picked up his axe. He swung back his arm as though to strike the tree. Suddenly he stopped. He turned and looked at the animals and the child. He hesitated. Then he dropped the axe and walked out of the rainforest. Okay, that is the end of the book. I hope that it's kind of given you an idea of the importance of rainforests and trees and the job that we as human beings have to protect those things. We're going to be talking more about the effects that we have on the trees and the rainforests as well as the effects that they have on us. And so hopefully you can kind of take some mental notes on some of the animals that we're going to be talking about as well as some of the cause and effect things that we're going to be discussing.