In the dense, green Amazon rain forest, a man is chopping down a great Kapok tree. The animals who live among its leaves and branches watch him silently. Hot and weary, the man lies down to rest at the foot of the tree and falls asleep. Then, one by one, the forest creatures emerge to whisper in his ear. They beg him not to destroy their home and tell him how important every tree is in the rain forest. An anteater reminds the man, "What happens tomorrow depends on what you do today." Finally a Yanomamo child of the rain forest pleads, "When you awake, please look upon us all with new eyes." The man wakes up with a start. All around him are monkeys, tree porcupines, frogs, bees, butterflies, anteaters, birds of many colors, a jaguar, and a three-toed sloth. Their whispers echo in his ears. The man and the creatures stare silently at one another, and then he makes his decision.
