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Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781496903389 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | AuthorHouse |
| Publication date: | 04/07/2014 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 26 |
| File size: | 6 MB |
| Age Range: | 13 - 17 Years |
Read an Excerpt
The Little Pine Tree
By Nina C. Allen, Charles Jaskiewicz
AuthorHouse
Copyright © 2014 Nina C. AllenAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4969-0337-2
CHAPTER 1
Once upon a time, not so long ago, there was a little pine tree, called Dougal, who lived on the Winkler Family Tree Farm with his mother and many other trees, some small like him and some big and tall. He knew he belonged to the pine tree family. He knew the tree farm was up in the hills somewhere in a place called "Virginia", but he was too young to know what was going on in the big world around him. Usually he was a very contented little tree because his life was simple and calm. He enjoyed feeling the warmth of the sun in the summer and the cool breezes in the spring and the fall, and seeing the sparkling white snow on the mountain tops in the winter. The only time he was ever worried was when he saw hazy gray smoke off in the distance because his mother had explained to him what "fire" was, and he knew it could be very dangerous, not only for him but for all the creatures that lived in the mountains.
One day in mid-November, Dougal was feeling sad. The winds had been whipping around the tree farm where he lived, and many brightly colored leaves were swirling through the air in great gusts, pursued by a little girl and boy. The sun caught the red, yellow, orange, brown and gold leaves and made them sparkle as they danced around in the air. The children laughed and stretched up their arms trying to catch the leaves as they spiraled to the ground.
He could hear a bigger person calling to them, so he knew their names- Phoebe Jane and Charlie. He also knew that they lived in the white wooden house with green shutters that sat just down the road. They were taller than he was, and older too, although he knew they were not that old, as he had seen them several times when they went off to school in a big yellow bus. Dougal felt so tiny with his thin green branches and wished that he was not always quite so green. He would have liked to have been like the maples that were especially pretty when their leaves showered down on the ground like confetti. He felt neglected because nobody paid any attention to him. He had no leaves to shed, only spiky needles, and no one danced around him. As his branches drooped, a little rain drop trickled down just like a tear.
He had asked his mother how his life had begun, and she had explained that he had started as a little seed in a pine cone that had dropped off one of her branches, settled into the earth, gradually sent down long roots and finally shot upwards as a little sprout.
"Don't worry," his mother said. "Someday you will be a big and beautiful tree too. Enjoy this time. I will protect you from storms and floods and heavy snows with my big branches. See how the squirrels run around looking for acorns under your cousins, the oak trees. Watch how they sit up with their little paws cupped around their food as they nibble away, and their tails twitch as they try to keep their balance. Notice how the rabbits hop about and chase each other around the rocks and through the flowers and wiggle their whiskers. Look at the ant armies as they march along carrying leaves and food back to their homes. Listen to the birds as they chatter away and peck in the ground for seeds or worms to eat. All these creatures are much smaller than you are and they are happy.
Dougal listened to his mother, but was not convinced. "But I am so green and I can't move and all I know of the world is what I see and hear right around me. I know there must be other places outside of this farm on the other side of the mountain or down in the valley, because I have heard Phoebe Jane and Charlie talking, and I have seen them come and go."
His mother looked at him and smiled: "You are right. There is a big, wide world out there and some day you will see some of it, but you need some growing time still. You just have to be patient. And yes, you are green, a very beautiful green, and that is because you are an evergreen and a member of the Scotch pine family."
"What is that?" Dougal asked, interested.
His mother answered: "An evergreen is a tree that is always green. It does not change colors but in the cold wintery months, it stays green when many other trees stand shivering and bare in the cold winds. Each tree is different and special. A pine tree has its own beauty all year long, and particuclarly at this time of the year. Squirrels and birds build their nests in our branches for protection. Not all birds fly south for the winter, some stay all year and need shelter. Haven't you seen the cardinals, robins and chickadees looking for a home?"
Dougal dipped his top twig to show that he understood and then asked: "But what makes this time of the year special?"
"November is the time when Mr. Winkler comes through his farm looking for his most beautiful trees, like pines, firs and spruces. Some are big and some are small. They all wave their branches at him to attract his attention as they want to be picked. Some he takes out with their roots attached." His mother replied.
"That sounds terrible! Why would he do that?" said Dougal, trembling and tingling all the way down to his own roots.
"Because that is why we are all here on his farm. Most of us are going to be Christmas trees and that is really special," said his mother.
"Christmas trees?" Dougal asked.
"Christmas trees," his mother repeated. "to decorate the churches and houses all across America, as people celebrate the birth of Baby Jesus at Christmas time."
Douglas looked puzzled. "I have heard Phoebe Jane and Charlie talk about Christmas, and about the presents they are planning to give and hope to receive, but when is Christmas?"
"Most people celebrate Christmas on December 25. Families come out to the farm and choose a tree that they take home on top of their truck or in the trunk of their car. Some families go to shops or parking lots in towns and buy trees there. It is a big family event, and sometimes the tree- sellers give them hot cider to drink and striped candy canes as a little treat."
"But the trees are still just green," said Dougal.
"That is because Christmas trees are supposed to be green, and anyway by the time they are decorated, they can be any color a family chooses."
"Decorated?" Dougal responded, fascinated.
"The trees are strung with lights, sometimes all white like stars or snow flakes, and sometimes many different colors."
"Like reds and oranges and yellows and gold?" Dougal asked, beginning to smile inside.
"Of course. And also silver, purple, blue, green or pink. Some trees are simple and strung with cranberries or popcorn and hand-made paper decorations. Some trees are hung with twinkling glass balls and silver tinsel or glass icicles. Some have little decorations made of painted wood or clay. Each tree is very pretty and very special to the family who chooses and decorates it. The tree picked by each family feels very proud to be so loved, and honored to be part of the decorations for Jesus's birthday."
Dougal felt much happier and wondered when he would be selected as someone's special Christmas tree. A few days later, early in the morning before the frost had melted on the grass, he heard a lot of noise in the forest and saw clouds of dust in the sky, as some big trucks slowly made their way up the mountain path. Then he heard a high- pitched, whining sound and was very scared . His pine needles all shook with fear
"Is it fire?" He asked.
His mother laughed and explained what was happening:
"No, no! Don't worry. It's just the tree men. They have come to take some of the big trees first. Those trees are going to town squares, or malls or in front of churches all over Virginia. We are very excited this year because one of your great- uncles, Uncle Fraser, has been chosen to go all the way to Washington D.C., to be the national Christmas tree near the White House. He will be covered in lights, and appear on television, and his lighting will signal the start of the Christmas and holiday season. It is a very great honor for the whole family. Great Aunt Spruce is just thrilled and can't stop giggling with pride. The president will flip a switch and Uncle Fraser will be all lit up. Children will sing Christmas carols and everybody will be very happy and say what a magnificent tree he is. Uncle Fraser and many of your uncles and aunts will be traveling all over the country. It is so exciting!"
A week passed, and on the first Saturday in December, Dougal awoke to hear the happy voices of little children and a barking dog. Some families had come out to the country to choose their tree for Christmas.
Dougal stretched up as tall as he could and whispered: "Pick me! Pick me!"
(Continues...)
Excerpted from The Little Pine Tree by Nina C. Allen, Charles Jaskiewicz. Copyright © 2014 Nina C. Allen. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse.
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