It was a late summer afternoon. The sky was a hazy blue under the scorching sunlight. Sun and Earth seemed tired after a hard day's work and needed some rest. Their attention turned to two little lively girls busy playing on a beach beside the sea. It would be fun, they thought, to make friends with them. Sun blew a sudden whiff of cool sea air which startled the kids. They both looked up and were greeted by the radiant Sun with a "Hello" and a broad smile. The wind blowing from the sea, skimming the foam-crested waves, tossed the curly hair of one girl and whispered, "Hello, I am Earth." The kids were surprised to hear the unknown voices of strangers, but recognizing them, felt reassured and reciprocated with a shy "Hello" to both of them.

Sun asked the curly-haired girl, "What is your name, and what are you doing here?" The girl said, "I am Marisha, and she is my sister Riya. We have come here on a summer holiday with our parents. Our school is closed as it is very hot in our town. I don't like the heat, nor does Riya." Riya also joined in, "It is too hot in my town also. We love the sea with the cool breeze blowing. But tell me, why are you so hot this summer? Why don't you shine a bit mellow so that we can enjoy the weather?"

Sun smiled gently and said, "It is hot in summer and cold in winter because my friend Earth tilts towards me while it spins like a moving top. My rays remain very, very hot at all times." Earth was quick to respond, "This is why I keep a safe distance from the heat of the Sun. I do not circle very far off from my friend, nor come too near him. If I were too near, like my cousins Mercury or Venus, I would be burnt like them. If I were too far away, I would be icy like Uranus and Neptune." Thinking for a while, Earth said, "Children, do you remember the story 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears'? Can you tell me whose porridge was lapped up by the hungry Goldilocks?" "I know!" said Riya. "It was the Baby Bear's porridge." "But why?" questioned the Sun, to which Marisha replied, "Because it was just right — not very hot like the Father Bear's porridge, nor too cold like the Mother Bear's porridge." "You are correct," said the Sun. "In the same way, Earth keeps just the right distance from me so that she always remains more or less warm — just right for water to exist on the surface of the Earth. To support liquid water and for life to exist, she has to keep more or less the right temperature, as our bodies do. My friend Earth stays in what is called the Goldilocks Zone." "Oh, how I love this name! Goldilocks is our favourite," cried the sisters. They were very amused and laughed loudly.

"And do remember, children," said Earth, "that it is the Sun's warm light and energy which keeps you alive and makes life possible. You, and everything around you — be it the flowers, the plants, all living things big and small, like the birds, the fish, the elephants, the frogs and the worms — are alive because of the Sun. He is our life-giver." "Now I understand," said Riya thoughtfully, "that without the Sun, nothing would live. Thank you, Sun, for taking care of us all." Sun further said, "The Earth is like your mother, taking care of you too. She gives you the pure air to breathe, the blue sky where the birds fly, the lovely flowers blooming in the green meadows, the clean water to drink from the lakes and rivers flowing from the melted glaciers in the snow-covered mountains. She also gives the plants which provide you food to eat, the fish in the beautiful seas and vast blue oceans, the green forests where the trees grow and the birds and animals live, the cloud-bearing rains nourishing the crops in the fields below. If you were an astronaut in a spaceship circling the Earth far above in outer space, you could see below the lovely Earth, with the blue oceans and the dusty yellow deserts, covered by fluffy swirling white clouds."

"But there is something very mysterious that will surprise you a lot," said the Sun. "Please tell us, Sun!" said Marisha. Sun continued, "Marisha, can you move easily through rock, or water, or against a strong wind?" Prompt was the reply: "Absolutely not." "But don't you think it is magical that this huge Earth can sail smoothly through space and you don't feel it at all?" "Why?" asked the inquisitive Riya. Sun replied, "Because she is moving along with me, nearly steadily, at very fast speed, in a bigger circle — just like a spaceship. She is carrying you, your family, the air, the rivers, the mountains, everything with her, never stopping." The sisters were excited. "If the Earth is a spaceship, do you mean we are astronauts?" "Yes, you are special astronauts — earthlings, travelling in your own special spaceship, which has a name: Earthship." The children were so happy to learn this that they clapped their hands in glee. "But where are our spacesuits?" asked Riya. Earth explained, "You don't require them, as I give you all the oxygen in the air to breathe. This oxygen is needed by astronauts when they are in empty space, where there is no oxygen — that is why they have to wear spacesuits. Otherwise, they would die from lack of oxygen."

"But," said the ever-curious Marisha, "if we are in a spaceship, why are we not floating like the astronauts?" Earth said merrily, "When does Marisha flit like a butterfly and float like a bee? It is when she just flies away after she jumps up from the ground, and nothing drags her down. It is a totally different experience when you jump anywhere on the surface of the Earth — you fall back and might hurt yourself. But the astronauts do not fall like you, right? It is because you float only when you are in free fall in space. You do not feel heavy, or that you have weight. This is weightlessness. The spaceship, with the astronauts inside, is actually in free fall towards the Earth while it orbits. You similarly become weightless and float when you skydive from high up in the sky — you are in free fall through space towards the Earth. You would continue falling unless something stops you, like the ground. There is no ground for the Earth in empty space, or for the spaceship — therefore the astronauts continue to float." The sisters were beside themselves with excitement. "It would really be so much fun floating in the air, twisting and turning, doing somersaults. We would be Olympic gymnasts! So we are, in some way, astronauts roaming freely in the space of the heavens. It's really magic."

"But why does this nearly steady motion through space not affect us?" questioned Marisha. "It actually affects us every day here when we move at high speed. I have felt it when my father drives his car steadily on the highway at very high speed — eighty miles per hour. If I lower the window, a sudden gust of howling wind blows in my face and my hair flies wildly. I have to close the window hurriedly so that my toys, books and water bottle are not thrown to the floor of the car." Sun smiled and said, "Now imagine what would happen if, instead of your car on the highway, a huge car like the Earth were moving through space at a speed of five hundred thousand miles per hour." "Oh my God!" shouted the sisters together. "We would be thrown into space and die instantly!" "But does it really happen, my dears?" Sun asked with a mischievous smile. "I am sure you never felt any 'space wind' blowing on your face, and it never turned a single strand of your curly hair." "You are absolutely correct! This is a miracle! But why is it so? There is no end to your surprises for us, and our heads are whirling!" exclaimed Riya.

The Sun smiled. "Be a little patient, my children — we are at the end of the story. Have you seen the ripples on a pond, or the small waves in an ocean on a calm day? They move smoothly because the waves are nothing but water — the waves belong to the water. The electrons and quarks inside the atoms that make up your body (protons and neutrons are themselves made of still tinier particles called quarks) are, in the same way, also tiny waves. You all move smoothly through the vast ocean of space — the universe — since you are made from waves of the universe. You all belong to the universe. You are not separate from it, as you are from the water, the air and the rocks, across which you cannot move so freely. This is why you do not feel any effect when Earth, carrying you, is moving through space." The sisters looked at each other and smiled solemnly. Their faces beamed with joy, having learned the deepest secrets of the universe.

The girls exclaimed, "Now we know why you and the Sun are such close friends, always looking after us!" The Sun added, "That's right. But do you know the other name for this Earth? It is Mother Nature, or Gaia, since she nourishes you and takes care of you. You are all children of Gaia — you cannot live without her. You must have also understood how special Earth is — our home, since it is the one and only place in the universe where there is life in such abundance and in so many forms. It is not present anywhere else, not on the other planets, and not among the billions and billions of stars and galaxies in the vast, infinite cosmos." The girls were astounded.

But Earth's mood changed. She let off a deep sigh and said, "It is really sad to tell you that most of the people who live on me do not understand this. Don't you see how they poison the air?" Marisha nodded her head in agreement. "You are right, Mother. In the winter, there is thick dust for miles, covering the sky. We cough and choke and can hardly breathe. While travelling in cars and trains, we have seen in the distance dirty black smoke coming out of big chimneys from factories." Earth continued with her sad story. "They also dirty the water in the rivers and lakes, so that you cannot drink it. They are cutting down the forests and destroying the homes of the birds and animals who live there. Without their homes and food, the poor animals are dying. It's the same in the seas and oceans, where the fish and whales live. The people are becoming too greedy, and are fighting with each other. And the worst is that they are warming the planet by burning coal, drilling oil and natural gas, releasing harmful gases into the air, and polluting the oceans."

Riya said, "Yes, I have heard about this in school — it is called global warming." Earth added, "It is becoming too hot because of people's hurtful actions. Imagine how sick you feel when you have a high fever — I am nowadays always having this fever." Riya was alarmed. "But this is bad for your health, Mother!" "It is not only bad for me, but equally bad for my children — like you, and the people who live here too," Earth said, in a dejected manner. Marisha, with an angry look, asked, "But how can some people do this? To hurt you and destroy their beautiful home is the most foolish thing to do!" Earth lamented, "They are selfish and greedy, and want to enjoy a lot of luxury, caring little for others. They think they are separate from Mother Nature, and want to grab my rich wealth of lush green forests and plants, my fertile soil and land, my abundant water and clear air — and harm the birds, animals and fish along the way. All the things that make their lives so comfortable — the cars, the mobiles, the computers, the electricity, the lights, the TV, the planes, the internet, the factories, the buildings — use my rocks, my minerals, and the energy stored within me. But they don't understand that what I have given freely for their own good will not last forever. Ultimately, they will destroy Nature, with all its flora and fauna, and be destroyed in turn."

Marisha was perplexed. "But how can they treat you so badly, and be so wicked? They must realize that we are a part of you — just like the animals and birds, the forests and the mountains, the seas and the oceans, the air, the clouds, and the infinite space stretching beyond that we call the Universe. We are all one." Sun smiled. "Very well said. I am so glad that both of you understand this. You should do things that do not harm Mother Earth and all living beings, and help your friends realize this too. They, in turn, can spread this message — Save Mother Nature — to others, so that it reaches as many people as possible. It is only in this way that you can save your beautiful, caring Mother Earth, and save yourselves."