There was nothing Jesse loved better than to lay under the big spruce tree by the lake. She could spend hours watching the boughs dance and sway.
Her parents sometimes joked that she would turn into a tree… which made her laugh. And really… Jesse didn’t mind because she loved her green friend. Sometimes she wondered what it would be like.
“Is that so?” said a barky voice.
“I didn’t know trees could talk.” said a very surprised Jesse.
“Well I wasn’t sure if there were any people left who knew how to listen. Yes, it is a strange thing – trees are always talking in the forest, but does anybody hear? Nope! Too busy yacking and hiking to stop for a chat. Who knows why they’re in such a hurry! Stumps me! So you think you’d like to be a tree, Jesse? You can, you know!” Said the tree.
“But how?” asked Jesse, all puzzled and amazed.
“Well first, think like a seed and plant yourself on the ground. Lean back against my trunk and as you look up through my branches…breathe into the green. Be as light as a breeze and you’ll fly through the door like a hummingbird’s sneeze.”
Suddenly Jesse felt like she was in a big elevator – but it was actually the tree trunk! If she wanted to go exploring up or down or into any of the branches, all she had to do was dream to go there and she would be on her way… Even peeking out through the tiny spruce needles was an adventure!
Jesse marveled at the feeling of being so tall, of seeing what was happening far away in the forest -and at her new way of travelling – It seemed like she didn’t even have to open her eyes to see all the beauty around her.
“You know, Jesse. I am as high as I am low! Come and see the roots I grow.” Said the tree.
So, down into the ground she went for a look… It was like a whole other tree underground.
“Jesse.” Said the tree. “Now that you know how to find your way into the world of green, you realize you have green friends of all sizes to visit with everywhere you go.”
As Jesse blinked back into herself she suddenly saw smiling faces shining out from the flowers, brushes and even the grasses!
“Thank you tree,” said Jesse. “I shall never forget you.”
As Jesse wandered home from the forest, she began to wonder how she could possibly explain her amazing adventure in the world of the green.
Just then down the path, her mother came smiling to meet her with arms outstretched.
“Oh Jesse,” beamed her mother, “How tall and strong you are… like a lovely young tree all in blossom!”
And holding fast to her mother’s trunk, Jesse gasped realizing, that she was not the only one who knew about the land of green.
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