The Tree in search of his roots

 

Once upon a time, a little tree popped up from the ground.  As he looked around, he noticed that all the other trees were very big and quite tall.  In fact, it was a little intimidating, being so tiny, in the shade of all the trees around him.  Even though he was a little scared and just a bit nervous, he wondered if he was going to grow up to be like them.

After several months went by, when he started to feel a little more comfortable in his surroundings, he started asking questions of those around him.

“What are we?” he asked.

What looked to be the age of a teenager, who was just a few feet away said, “We’re trees, you little Twerp.”

“So, I’m a Twerp Tree?”

“No, silly.  You’re just a tree.”

“But what kind of tree am I?”

“How should I know?”

The teenage tree was no help at all, so the new little tree waited a while and then asked one of the taller trees that was just off to his left.

“Excuse me, but what kind of trees are we?”

“Well, little fella, to answer that we must look at what we have.  If we have oranges, then we’re an orange tree.  If, however, we have apples, that means we’re an apple tree.”

“I don’t have either of those.”

“It takes time, Kid.  You must wait and also look at your leaves.  Pay attention to the shape of your leaves, whenever you get leaves, that is.  You also need to pay attention to what’s around you.  If you are a banana tree, you’ll have monkeys all around.  If you’re a Palm tree, you’ll be surrounded by tourists.”

“What’s the best kind of tree to be?”

“That depends…  If you are a Teak, you’ll have people wanting to make boats out of you, but if you’re a Cedar, you’ll most likely end up in a closet.

“What’s a closet?  Will I like it?”

“I don’t think so, Kid.  Your best bet is to be a Banyan tree.  People seem to leave those alone.  What you don’t want is to be a Eucalyptus.  They really stink.”

“Do I smell now?”

“I don’t smell anything.  I think you’re OK.”

Many years later, the little tree found that he had grown much taller than that wise-guy teenager, and even taller than his friend that had answered all of his questions.

No longer did he have to compete for sunshine.  He was taller than the shade of the other trees.  His real excitement came when he popped out his very first acorn.  He suddenly knew that he was an Oak tree.  He loved it.  He had heard stories of the Oak trees of the past, some holding out their mighty limbs, so horse rustlers could be hanged, others, holding ropes for little children and backyard swings.  And he knew now he’d be surrounded by squirrels and not by tourists.

He was happy.

The End