A Children’s Story
Once there was a Great Red Tree that grew in the middle of a forest. It was hundreds of years old. Beneath its magnificent red branches grew hundreds of little child trees.
The Great Red Tree and its little tree children were so beautiful that, from time to time, people from the nearby village would visit the forest to sit beneath their lovely branches. They would eat, play, talk, and enjoy the peaceful shade of the trees.
The King was fascinated by the Great Red Tree. He wanted its great trunk to become part of his palace. But to do this, the Great Red Tree would have to be cut down and killed.
One day, the people received the King’s command: the Great Red Tree must be cut down in three days.
That evening, the villagers lit their lamps and walked together to the Great Red Tree. They placed flowers in its branches and gently watered its roots. Then they sat beneath the tree and began to cry, for they all loved the Great Red Tree.
The tree had been part of their lives for as long as anyone could remember. Their parents and grandparents had known the tree, too. Children had played beneath its branches and among the little red trees that grew around it.
The villagers gathered around the great trunk and spoke to the tree about the memories they had shared with it. They remembered playing in its shade, resting beneath its branches, and watching the little trees grow. They stayed late into the night, reluctant to leave their old friend.
Finally, they stood and said, “We will miss you very, very much.”
The next day, several villagers went to the palace to speak with the King.
“Your Majesty,” they pleaded, “the Great Red Tree has been with us our entire lives. Our parents and grandparents knew it well. Our children have played beneath its branches and among its little trees. Please, let the Great Red Tree live.”
But the King replied, “I must have the tree, even if it is dead and standing in my palace!”
The people were afraid to disobey their King. They tried to change his mind, but he would not listen. In fact, the more they pleaded, the more determined he seemed to become.
That night, the Great Red Tree thought about what would happen when it was cut down.
“I am not afraid to die,” the Great Red Tree thought. “But I am afraid that when I fall, my little tree children will be crushed. I do not want them to die.”
That night, the spirit of the Great Red Tree appeared to the King in a dream. The King saw the Great Red Tree crying.
“Why have you come?” the King asked. “Why are you crying?”
The spirit of the Great Red Tree replied, “If you must take my life, I will accept it. But please spare the lives of my little tree children. When I fall, my great trunk may crush them.”
The King thought about this.
“But that is impossible,” he said. “The little trees grow all throughout the forest. Some of them will surely be trampled when you fall.”
The Great Red Tree replied, “You may take my life, but I ask only one thing: please spare my little tree children.”
The King was deeply moved by the Great Red Tree’s love for the little trees. He became silent and thought for a long time.
Finally, he said, “I will not cut you down. Return to the forest, Great Red Tree. Live in peace.”
The next morning, when the village families heard that the Great Red Tree would be spared, there was a great celebration. Dancing and lively music filled the Great Red Forest from one end to the other. Families laughed and played beneath the beautiful red branches.
And if you looked very, very carefully, you might have seen the Great Red Tree’s branches gently swaying in the breeze—as though the tree itself were dancing with joy.