Firemen had been fighting the forest for nearly three weeks before they could get it under control. A short time before, great trees had covered the countryside for miles around. Now, smoke still rose up from the warm ground over the desolate1 hills. Winter was coming on and the hills threatened the surrounding villages with destruction2, for heavy rain would not only wash away the soil but would cause serious floods as well. When the fire had at last been put out, the forest authorities3 ordered several tons of a special type of grass-seed which would grow quickly. The seed was sprayed5 over the ground in huge quantities by aeroplanes6. The planes had been planting seed for nearly a month when it began to rain. By then, however, in many places the grass had already taken root. In place of the great trees which had been growing there for centuries patches8 of green had begun to appear in the blackened soil.