Guillermo and Fiorella’s family was enjoying their last hike of the fall before the weather turned too cold to go hiking. Halfway up a mountain on a trail they had never taken before, their father said, “This would be a great spot to have a house.”

 

They looked around the edge of the sunny meadow, down to a stream, feeling a fresh breeze coming down the mountain.

 

 

“You’re right, Dad,” Guillermo said.

 

 

“I would love to live here, too,” said Fiorella. “It’s so pretty and I’m sure there are deer and all kinds of other animals here. It would be great to watch wildlife right from our front porch.”

 

 

“I don’t know about living in a place like this,” their mother said. “There’s no electricity and you kids couldn’t live for more than a day without your gizmos. You could never get the power company to run an electrical line this far out into the woods.”

 

 

“Well, if we were allowed to build a house here, we could make our own electricity,” Fiorella said.

 

 

“But making electricity requires energy. Where would we get it?” their father asked.