The Tale of the Twisted Tree

Long ago this twisted tree decided to lay down. It had been a very tall tree but, one day in the forest, its twisted twigs, limbs, branches and trunk held a meeting and decided everyone would be much more comfortable laying down. The question at hand became,”How will we do it? How will we get from way up here to way down there?” As a group they knew they couldn’t just fall down because it would cause a great crash, too much noise, and there would be injuries to the twisted twigs, limbs, branches and trunk. While they were still quite tall they thought very big expansive thoughts considering how they could get from way up there to way down here. Soon, they agreed on an extremely slow, imperceptible set of movements toward the ground.

At the beginning of their discussion they expected the only and biggest decision would be just to lay down. But, no! As they began their extremely slow, imperceptible set of movements toward the ground all kinds of questions came up. Exactly which way should they head? Should they let the neighbors know they’d soon be aground tree instead of an air tree? Should they let the ground animals know their own homes were in danger? Should they ask for help from the birds who seemed to be happy at every height in the forest? Should they take advantage of the darkness and move a lot more quickly when no one could see them? Should they plan to slide down more quickly on rainy days? Some days all the questions overwhelmed the twisted twigs, limbs, branches, and trunk and they felt like giving up.

But, there was no turning back. Once they’d started the extremely slow, imperceptible set of movements toward the ground they just had to keep going. Which, in fact, is exactly what they did.

Slowly....slowly....slowly....they went until they were, as you can see, laying down all together on the soft forest floor.

And that was really the most surprising part of the whole journey: the soft forest floor! From very high in the sky the ground had always looked hard, unwelcoming, and generally inhospitable. But, when they finally got there it was soft, inviting, warm, safe, cushy, delicious, and, frankly, the best place they’d ever been!

And so goes the tale of the twisted tree that decided to lay down.