环球自然日®-故事播讲（2022年度）英文素材-10.Smog the Monster

One day, Vole who lives in the countryside visited his cousin Mouse who lives in the city.

The air in the city was gray and foggy, and Vole felt itchy in his throats, which made him very uncomfortable. So he coughed.

"Why are you coming here at this time!" Mouse said while helping Vole carry his luggage, "Recently, there are some monsters called Smog wandering around the city! They come and go quickly, and so powerful that they can break the stone by waving their hands, cause heavy black smoke by sneezing and swallow an entire mountain in one bite!"

The more Vole listened, the more scared he became: "If the Smog can swallow the mountains, it can also eat us, right?"

Mouse said: "They eat everything! Even human are afraid of them. When they heard that Smogs were coming, they shut their window and didn't even dare to come out. For those who have to go out, they have to cover their faces with a large white cloth so that they won’t be recognized and eaten by the monster!"

Vole was so scared that he almost fainted to the ground. He hurriedly bid farewell to Mouse, and set off to his hometown hurriedly.

Vole coughed while rushing. It was so foggy. Suddenly, a looming paw stretched out towards him! Vole's heart was pounding, and when he took a closer look, he discovered that it was a dry branch. Vole quickened its pace. Suddenly, a bright red eye appeared in the distance! As soon as the red eyes closed, a green eye was opened again! Vole was so scared that he jumped three feet high and rushed forward. Poor little Vole has never seen a traffic light before.

Vole ran and ran. He didn’t know how long he ran. When he stopped, he found himself reach the outskirts. The air was finally freshened, and Vole smelled the fragrance of wild flowers and grass. He came to a rock and wanted to take a good rest.

A little black boy is sitting on a dandelion flower next to him.

Vole asked curiously: "Who are you? Why have I never seen you?"

"I... I'm what you called... Smog the monster." The black boy said in a low voice.

"You?" Vole surprised. "How could be?"

"Actually, I am not a big monster, I am just a small smoke elf, in charge of smoke and dust. This is what i suppose to be like. However, people built various buildings in the city, and high chimneys rose. Thick smoke came out, and the cars on the road continuously emitted exhaust gas. All i can do is to swallow those smoke and dust continuously. Therefore, i became bigger and bigger. The black smoke would came out when I hiccuped. In the end, I became Smog the monster. People inhaled so many smog particles that they got sick, or even died. Since then, I became the monster as they said." The black boy said, while shedding black tears. "Yesterday, a gust of wind blew me here, and I changed back to my original appearance."

 "So it is," the kind-hearted Vole said sympathetically, "How about living with me in the countryside. There is no black smoke and no exhaust, you will never become a monster again."

The black boy nodded, and finally he laughed happily.

However, there are still many smoke elves trapped in the city not far away. When will they be free? Only humans knows.