a poem by Meena Cariappa what a great find!

JUNGLE JUSTICE A court was being held by the judge Grizzly Bear The wolf, the fox, the cheetah were there. The prisoner, a woodcutter, trembled with fear A strong case against him was filed by the deer As the jury of leopards came and sat on one side "Stand up!" said he judge, "You're bout to be tried You enter our jungle when you please And day after day you cut off our trees Our home and shelter you take away Soon our children will not have a single place to play! Have you ever stopped to think how we feel? When you come to our jungle to plunder and to steal How would you like it if we did the same? Broke down your homes and set them aflame?" At last the woodcutter spoke, his voice full of shame "I have just understood how much I am to blame I have only been thinking of myself all along And without meaning to have done you great wrong I don't just want to beg forgiveness of everyone But want to find out how to undo what I've done To make amends if anyone just shows me the way I'll work towards it till my dying day." The jury just listened, the judge nodded his head. "We see you are sorry for what you have done," he said. "We'll tell you how you can make up for your deeds Under that big tree lie ten bags of seeds Plant them and tend them, let each become a tree Then your punishment is over- you'll become free." Said the woodcutter, 'that's fair -I'll do what I can." He took the bag and walked of a wiser man.