A father walked through a city park, as his daughter ran ahead of him towards a large statue at the top of a hill. Reaching the statue first, the child slowly looked the statue over from bottom to top, craning her head back to do so.

"Wowww." She said in amazement as her father caught up to her and stood by her side. "Were they real, daddy?" She asked.

"Yes, they were, they left lots of things behind and that's how we know they were here before us." The father replied.

"So, where did they go?" the child asked, her curiosity piqued.

After thinking it over for a few seconds, the father replied: "Nobody really knows, Susie. Some say it was over in a big explosion, others think the weather changed and it was too much for them. Whatever happened, they've been gone for a long time."

"Oh. That's sad." The youngster said as she ran a paw across the length of the plaque that graced the bottom of the statue.

"Yeah, I guess it is." The father solemnly replied. Rapidly changing his tone he tussled the hair on his daughter's head, "Come on, kiddo. Let's get some ice cream!"

"Yay!" exclaimed the young pup as she began running down the hill on all four legs. Her father sighed, thinking "she'll grow out of it" to himself before taking one last look at the statue of a man and a woman standing side-by-side holding hands. He then glanced at the plaque before following his daughter down the hill on his hind legs.

The inscription on the plaque read: "IN MEMORY OF THE HUMAN RACE"