Knitting a Better World

Once every year or so, all the grown-ups of the Pine Forest gather in the library and produce what is know around here as the Evergreen Announcement. This might sound like a very grown-up thing to do, but it’s really not. It’s actually quite simple. 

The Announcement is something like a letter in which the animals of the Pine Forest write about a certain BIG problem. They gather inside the library, discuss all the important stuff that had happened in the past year and decide what could be improved. And whichever thing needs improving the most — that’s the one they write about in the letter!

But first, they pick someone to write everything down on a piece of paper. Then they pick a speaker, who reads the Announcement live on Pine Forest Radio (and in a live stream on their website) the next day, while a photographer takes his photo so it can be published in several respectable newspapers around the world.

This time, everyone decided that the speaker should be — Otja! It was his first time and he felt a bit nervous about going live on the radio...and the entire internet. Luckily, his friends were there to cheer him on. The topic of the Announcement was dedicated to all the animals that didn’t have a canopy over their heads or a burrow to sleep in during the night. Those with holes in their sneakers and without a knitted blanket to keep them warm. The lonely and sad ones, who just needed a friend to help them out. Maybe they were lost, roaming or running away from something… or maybe they were just young and hard-headed. We may never know their reasons for not having a place to call home, but the reasons don’t really matter. 

“All that matters is that we help them,” the animals at the meeting agreed.

The Announcement spread around the entire world quickly as never before. This resulted in all knitting classes being full the next day! Everyone was knitting sweaters, blankets, hats and socks, and giving them out to those in need. The doors of libraries were wide open, as were playgrounds, cinemas and theatres...and everyone could come inside and have a rest. Owls filled the feeding stations around neighbouring forests and younglings drew colourful signs pointing to nearby shelters.

The letter concluded with the following words:
”There come days when we get in trouble. It then becomes really, really important, that someone lends us a hand and a little piece of happiness. That is why we should always keep our eyes open while walking around…and our heart even more so.”

And because this is no ordinary letter but the Evergreen Announcement, these words have a special power: once you hear them, you can never forget them.