There, in this endless place, a very unique and special family of animals lived. They were a family of four members, and they all loved the South American forest. The first member was Tata, Wise Papa Fox. He was the leader of the family. The second in the family was Mama Fox, called Tita. The third and the oldest member was Grandma Fox. Her name was Chita. She would get very angry if anyone called her Grandma. The fourth and youngest member of the family was little Toti, who loved to play many sports and was beginning to enjoy reading. Through reading, Papa Fox became the best informed expert in the region. There is a legend often told by local farmers, about how he saved a child from an asthma attack. One cold winter night in the forest, a farmer’s son was dying from an asthma attack. Since the hospitals were very far away, Tata took the initiative to go with the farmer to the hospital in a carriage ambulance. On the way, he decided that he would perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. As a result, he was able to save the child’s life before arriving at the hospital. He was able to save the life of the farmer’s son because he had read a book on first aid and remembered what he studied. One peaceful afternoon while having a small nap, she woke up and saw that Papa Fox was under the oak tree reading “Let’s Take Care of the Forests for Future Generations,” In the meantime; Mama Tita thought it would be a good idea if she told Papa Fox what was on her mind. Her snout was pointing at the sky while resting on Papa Fox’s shoulder, and then she gave a big sigh and said to him, “Excuse me, I realize you are having a wonderful time reading your book, and my intentions are not to interrupt your treasured reading time, but I need to ask you, if you please give me a moment of your time.” Papa Fox closed his book and said, “But of course, I will give you a moment of my time, my dear wife. Please tell me what is on your mind.” He quickly looked at Mama Tita and listened attentively to her concerns. She began her conversation by saying, “Over the years, I have seen that our lifestyle in this forest has not changed much, and I worry about the future of our son Toti.” She had a very sad expression on her face when she said this to Papa Fox. She continued relating her concerns to him and said: “This is the reason I would like us to move to another forest. I want our son to have the best education and the only way we will accomplish this goal is by moving to another place where there are different and better opportunities.” Papa Fox did not say a word while she was speaking. He was thinking of everything that she said to him so that he could make a good decision. When Mama Tita had finished her conversation, he said, “My dear wife, I accept your proposal to move our family to another forest, but there is one condition I request from you my dear.” Mama Tita was so lost in her thoughts and slightly surprised by his response that it took her a couple of minutes to say, “What is your request my dear husband?” Papa Fox gave a firm response by saying, “We will make this move. But, you must promise to continuously instill our cultural values in our son so that he can always use them in life. I want him to have strong roots.” Mama Tita said, “I give up, please give me an explanation on how we will help Toti to keep his roots.” He replied, “Well, allow me to explain you.” “Do you remember the terrible storm we had last summer, Dolly? “Trees, just like animals and humans have individual roots. These roots provide food and energy which, in turn, give life to the trees. Plants that develop strong and deep roots have a better chance to survive than plants that have their roots close to the top of the ground. Likewise, foxes and human beings that keep and value their own identity have a better opportunity of preserving their culture and ancestral roots, their heritage. This way, Papa Fox said, the family unit is much stronger and will allow each family member to survive and face up many difficulties together –with a positive attitude – toward the outcome of a particular situation. “So then, if our son faces a challenge in school, and later in life, he knows he can overcome it, because he has our support and a deep understanding of his identity.” With a sense of freedom, joy and satisfaction, Mama Tita exclaimed, “Oh, now I truly understand! What you’re saying is that it is important for our son to keep our first language and our cultural traditions that he has inherited, so that he may always be confident in himself? Mama Fox said, Mm, Oh, yes, yes! When we move to another forest, I promise, that while our little Toti learns the culture, traditions, lifestyle and the second language of the new forest, I will help our little one to keep his identity, his traditions and his mother language.”
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