This story is about this picture
Grandpa tucked Joey into bed and prepared for the nightly bedtime story ritual.
“Grandpa, what's an environment?” Joey asked.
“Depends on how you use the word Joey. Did you learn it in school today?”
“Yes, Grandpa, Miss Kathy said we needed to be careful about the environment, but I really didn't understand.”
“Well, it has to do with nature Joey, and that nature likes to keep things in balance,” Grandpa said. “Humans sometimes forgets that, and bad thinks happen when they do.”
“What kind of bad things Grandpa?”
“You know the stream out back? The one your mom tells you not to play in?”
“Yes.”
“The problem is there is a factory up the stream that sometimes releases chemicals into it which makes it unsafe to drink from it, or even touch it some days.”
Joey looked confused. “I don't understand Grandpa, why would they do that?”
Grandpa sat back. “Joey, have I ever told you the story of Harold and the Hat Monster?”
“No Grandpa.”
“Harold was a mighty hunter. He hunted for food, but he also hunted because he liked to mount the animals' heads he hunted on his walls.”
“Sort of like the moose head above our fireplace?”
“Yes, but Harold had a great many heads mounted on his walls, moose and deer and bears and all sorts of other wild creatures he had hunted. Why, he even had a Doubleewe it was said.”
“What's that?” Joey asked.
“An animal like a sheep with two heads, one on each end.”
“And he had both the heads on his wall?”
“No, that one was supposedly stuffed, and he displayed the whole animal.”
“What about the Hat Monster?”
“I was getting to that. The best animals with the biggest heads were in the dark center of the forest. Hunters feared to go there, because there were stories of fearsome beasts, and hunters who never returned. That didn't scare Harold. Nothing scared him.”
“Sort of like daddy.”
“Your father gets scared at times too, everybody does. But sometimes you have to act brave.”
“So was Harold just acting brave?”
“Harold was not thinking about nature, he just wanted the best and biggest head for his wall, and he heard that head belonged to the Hat Monster.”
“What was the Hat Monster like?”
“Now don't go getting ahead of me. One bright day in early autumn Harold took his trusty rifle and started into the woods in search of the Hat Monster. He reached the center of the forest where things were dark, and all sorts of scary noises came from behind every tree. Harold wasn't scared of man nor beast though. He noticed some strange tracks and started following them.”
“What kind of tracks?”
“Little tiny tracks made by little feet. But Harold had never seen anything like them before. The tracks lead through dense brush into the very darkest part of the forest. Harold made his way slowly and carefully following them, until eventually he came to a clearing, and what do you suppose he saw?”
“The Hat Monster!”
“Not exactly, but you are close. What he came too was a huge display of hats of all kinds and colors, hunting hats, top hats, opera hats, football helmets, all kinds of hats. Have you ever been to a hat store?”
“Mommy took me once. There were all sorts of hats.”
“And what were they displayed on?”
“Mostly on shelves, though some were on dummy heads.”
“Well that is the way the Hat Monster displayed his. Only he didn't have any dummy heads in the forest.”
“What did he use then Grandpa?”
“Well, he was a Monster remember? He used human skulls.”
“Really? Gee.”
“Really, and Harold looked at all those hats, with skulls underneath them. And began to understand why hunters were missing.”
“That's terrible!”
“Oh I don't know. What did Harold have on his walls?”
“Animal heads.”
“Well if a hunter has animal heads for decorations, what did you think a monster would have?”
“Oh.”
“Anyway, Harold started getting scared then, only it was a little late. He heard a voice behind him saying 'This one should do just fine', and quickly turned to see a red monster, mostly head, wearing a pink hat. The monster had a hatchet in one hand, and a frilly lady's hat in the other. Then quick as a wink, it lopped off poor Harold's head.”
“What happened then?”
“Well, if you go to the deepest, darkest part of the forest, and you come across a display of hats, the head under the frilly lady's one is Harold's.”
“But watch out for the Hat Monster!”
“Yes, unless you want to be his next hat stand.”
“But what does that have to do with the environment Grandpa?”
“Nature likes to keep things in balance. Harold liked to collect animal heads, nature wanted to keep things even between the hunters and the animals. It isn't the hunting that was the problem, it was the excess hunting for trophies. The environment is the same way. It is nature you know. If you change it, nature tries to put it back in balance. What nature does to do that may not necessarily be something you like.”
“So that's why Miss Kathy tells us we have to be careful about the environment.”
“Yes. That stream behind the house isn't just unsafe for you to play in, it is unsafe for fish and frogs and birds too. So by not being careful with the environment, that factory is making it difficult for all sorts of creatures, including people.”
“Do you think the Hat Monster will go after them?”
“No, the Hat Monster was only there to balance one kind of action. Something else will happen with the factory, either it will destroy people's living because they can't fish, or cause bad bugs to thrive because there are no birds or fish to eat them, or make people sick who try to drink the water. But there is always some price to pay for ignoring nature.”
“Should I warn the class about the Hat Monster tomorrow?”
“No, let's keep that one to ourselves for now, OK?”
“OK,”
“Now off to sleep with you,” Grandpa said as he turned off the light and left the room.