The Old Tree

There once was a very old tree. Everyday, a brother and sister walked by the tree, but they never looked at it. It is just an old tree, after all. There is nothing to see. The tree didn't move. It just stood tall over them. The tree can't talk, or walk, or tell a funny joke. It's a tree. It's not very interesting.

Then one day, Mommy and Daddy told the brother and sister they were going on a field trip to learn about something new and exciting. The brother thought, I hope we go to the new game store. I can see all the cool toys and play all day. The sister thought, I hope we go to the castle playground. I can pretend to be a princess fighting against the big dragon.

But Mommy and Daddy didn't plan to go to the game store or the castle playground. Instead, they took them to that old tree nearby their house. The brother instantly complained, saying how boring the tree was and how much he just wanted to go and play games. The sister put on her sad face, knowing there was nothing to see or do in that boring place.

But Mommy and Daddy were both filled with smiles because they knew something the brother and sister didn't know. They knew that old tree had a story and an adventure hidden underneath its bark. They knew the trees made the paper they like to draw on and the trees made the castle playground they like so much. More importantly, they knew the tree had games of its own, so Daddy climbed the tree as high as he could and the brother and sister were surprised to see it.

Daddy started tying ropes at the top of a tree branch, but the brother and sister didn't know what he was doing. Mommy asked if they wanted to climb the tree too, but both of them said no. "Who's boring now?" Mommy asked. At last, Daddy finished tying the ropes and threw a wood seat down to the ground. The ropes that were tied around the seat and the tree branch made it float in the air. Mommy was the first to sit on it. The brother and sister complained again and said, "it's just a swing. Our playground at school has swings, too."

Mommy and Daddy just laughed. While Daddy kept exploring the tree, Mommy was seeing how high she could fly on the swing. The brother and sister just sat on the ground, though, and put their heads down. Soon, Daddy was screaming over something he found and Mommy was screaming because she was so high. The brother and sister lifted their heads up and couldn't believe it. Since the ropes were so long, Mommy looked like she was really flying because she was so high.

The brother and sister were shocked and jealous. "I want to try it!" The brother said. But Mommy was having too much fun. "You wouldn't like this boring old swing. Just keep your head down and look at the ground. It must be interesting down there." Then, Daddy jumped down to the ground. The sister was surprised. "There is a real bird's nest up there and I saw the baby chicks coming out of the eggs and the Mommy bird feeding them little worms. It was amazing!"

The sister's mouth fell open. She wanted to see it, but it was too late. "Daddy, I want to see it!" she said. "I thought you didn't want to see this boring old tree," Daddy said. The brother and sister looked at each other. They didn't know what to say. Finally, Mommy and Daddy said, "okay, it's time to go." They grabbed the brother and sister by the hand and started leaving, but the brother and sister started screaming. "I want to stay! I want to see the cool things up in the tree. I want to play games in the tree and fly like Mommy. Can we stay please?"

Daddy and Mommy smiled at each other. "We were going to go to the game store and the castle playground, though. That will be better than this boring old tree." The brother and sister didn't pause. "But I want to stay here!" Then, Daddy asked them a question. "Why do you want to stay here with this boring old tree?" The brother answered first, "Daddy, it's not boring. You can fly in this tree!" The sister answered second, "Daddy, it's not boring. You can see real animals and cool things in this tree!"

Mommy smiled at them and squeezed Daddy's hand. "Okay, who wants to see the top of the tree and who wants to fly?" So the family stayed with the old tree, and it became a memory that stayed with them the rest of their lives.

THE END