The love of nature is a divine spark that exists within all children and, for naturalists, it never goes out. The author recalls his own childhood and wonders whether, in the younger generations, that spark is being extinguished too early.
Once upon a time there was a boy. He lived in the country on airbases that no longer exist, in houses that are no longer there. Nearby were woods with Red Squirrels in them and meadows with real wildflowers.