Lan Caiyou, Bao’an Middle School

Recently, my younger sister received a task from her science teacher, which was to observe silkworms. My younger sister refuses to approach the little insects, because in her eyes they are dirty. However, l love insects and plants very much. Why do I love them? It’s a long story.

There is a photo in my grandparents’ house, which shows a baby lying on its stomach on the lawn and pointing at a carpenter worm, smiling happily. That baby was me. It is the beginning of my story with nature.

When I was ready to start primary school, my family moved to a place near Wutong Mountain. In the early mornings on many weekends, my dad took me to climb the mountain. If it was early enough, we could see the dewdrops on the petals of the wild flowers. How beautiful they were! Outside my housing estate, there was a lawn that I went out into the grass to catch small insects like locusts every day after school. I played with the small insects instead of other toys. Once, l was bitten by a mantis, but l didn’t mind. My dad also allowed me to play with them, and sometimes, he even helped me catch them.

Summer vacation was my favorite time, because l could fly out to my grandparents’ house in the suburbs of Nanjing. I enjoyed joining my grandpa to take a stroll around the housing estate, which had plenty of fruit trees. My grandpa grew some figs and chilis, and my grandma grew scallions and chrysanthemums. And I planted wormwood, which can be used to drive worms away. My grandma’s best friend, Mrs. Sun, gave me red flowers to dye my fingernails. I realized then, while visiting my grandparents, just how many gifts nature had given us.

As l grew older, l became a huge fan of a documentary called “Nature Legend.” I loved the insects and animals presented in it.

However, children today who live in modern cities have less and less opportunity to get close to nature. Some of them are not familiar with nature, so they become afraid of it. What is more, some parents make this worse by overprotecting their children. Children are told not to touch the insects because “they are dirty, we should stay away from them.”

After l shared my story about nature with my younger sister, she became interested in her science task. I hope more children can embrace nature and explore its magic!