Lesson 62 After the fire

Firemen had been fighting the forest fire for nearly three weeks before they could get it under control. A short time before, great trees had covered the countryside for miles around. Now, smoke still rose up from the warm ground over the desolate hills. Winter was coming on and the hills threatened the surrounding villages with destruction, for heavy rain would not only wash away the soil but would cause serious floods as well. When the fire had at last been put out, the forest authorities ordered several tons of a special type of grass-seed which would grow quickly. The seed was sprayed over the ground in huge quantities by airplanes. The planes had been planting seed for nearly a month when it began to rain. By then, however, in many places the grass had already taken root. In place of the great trees which had been growing there for centuries patches of green had begun to appear in the blackened soil.

Three weeks have past before the fireman finally got the forest fire under control. The green countryside now is deserted black ground and the hill is only soil left. This brings up a potential danger as the winter is coming on. The heavy rain will not only wash away the soil, but also cause serious floods. The forest government has ordered tons of unusual grass seeds which were sprayed over the ground by many airplanes. By the time it began to rain, the grass already grew patches, as this kind of grass grows very fast. The grass replaced the old trees which had been there for centuries.

Thank you for listening, any comments are welcomed!