Story Time

 

This article is by Stephanie 

Long, long ago, before there were books, and even before there was reading and writing, there was story

time. The children in that long ago time loved stories just as much as they do today. So their mothers and their

fathers made their own stories to tell the children. They particularly liked to make stories about what they saw

in the world around them. Here is one of those stories.

One time when it was getting cold and the birds knew that winter

was coming, they all flew away to the warm south to wait for

spring, just as they did every year. All the birds flew away except

one, who had a broken wing and couldn’t fly. He did not know what

to do. He looked all around to see if there was any place where he

could keep warm. And he saw the trees of the great forest.

“Perhaps the trees will keep me warm through the winter,” he said.

So he went to the edge of the forest, hopping and fluttering with his

broken wing. The first tree he came to was a Birch tree. “Lovely Birch tree,”

he said, “will you let me live in your warm branches until spring comes?”

“Dear me!” said the Birch, “what a thing to ask! I have to take

care of my beautiful leaves through the winter, that’s enough

for me. Go away!”

So the little bird hopped and fluttered with his

broken wing until he came to a great big

Maple tree. “Oh, big Maple

tree,” said the little bird, “will

you let me live in your warm

branches until springtime comes?”

“Good gracious!” said the Maple

“What a thing to ask! I don’t take

 lodgers. Go away!”

So the little bird hopped and fluttered with his broken

wing until he came to the Willow tree by the river.

“Oh, lovely Willow tree, will you let me live in your

warm branches until the springtime comes?”

“No indeed!” said the Willow, “I never speak to strangers.

Go away!”

The poor little bird did not know where to go, but he hopped

and fluttered along with his broken wing. Presently the Spruce

tree saw him and said, “Where are you going, little bird?”

“I don’t know,” said the bird, “the trees will not let me live

with them, and my wing is broken so that I cannot fly.”

“You may live on one of my branches,” said the Spruce,

“there’s an old nest for you to sit in.”

“But may I stay all winter?”

“Yes, said the Spruce, “I would like to have you.”

The Pine tree stood beside the spruce, and when he saw

the little bird hopping and fluttering with his broken wing,

he said, “My branches are not very warm, but I can keep

the wind off because I am big and strong.”

So the little bird fluttered up into the warm branch

of the Spruce, and the Pine kept the wind off his house. Then the Juniper

tree saw what was going on, and said that she would give the

little bird his dinner all the winter, from her branches. Juniper

berries are very good for little birds.

The little bird was very comfortable in his warm nest sheltered

from the wind, with Juniper berries to eat.

The trees at the edge of the forest talked about it to each other.

“I wouldn’t take care of a strange bird,” said the Birch.

“I wouldn’t allow lodgers,” said the Oak.

“I wouldn’t speak to strangers,” said the Willow. And the

three trees stood up very tall and proud.

That night the young North Wind came to play. He puffed at the leaves with his icy breath

and found that every leaf he touched fell to the ground. This was great fun and he wanted

to touch every leaf in the forest to make it fall off the tree.

“May I touch every leaf?” he said to his father,

the Frost King.

“No,” said the Frost King, “the trees which

were kind to the bird with the broken wing

may keep their leaves.”

So the North Wind had to leave them alone,

and the Spruce, the Pine and the Juniper

trees kept their leaves through all the winter.

And they have done so ever since.