 In the midst of the forest lived a little pine tree. It was a pretty little tree with a fine straight trunk and strong straight branches. The little pine tree did not have big leaves like the oak close by. On its branches grew clusters of green spines, like long, green needles. "What a fine little pine tree!" twittered the birds in the oak tree. "What a fine little pine tree!" buzzed the bees that gathered honey in the meadow beyond the woods. But the little pine tree was not happy.
"Oh dear, oh dear," it sighed. "I don't see why I should have green needles instead of leaves. I do not think they are a bit pretty. I wish I had beautiful leaves of gold. How I would shine in the sun then! How beautiful I would be!"
And all day long the little tree sulked and whined, "Oh I wish I had leaves of gold."
That night the Fairy of the Trees came that way.
"Little pine tree," said the fairy, "you shall have your wish."
So the little pine tree fell asleep happily.
The fairy kept her promise. In the morning when the little tree woke up, its green needles were gone and in their place grew big leaves of gold.
The sun came up and said, "Good morning, little tree, what beautiful leaves you have now! But I can make them still more beautiful."
He turned his rays on the gold leaves and they shone even more brightly than before. How happy the little tree was now!
The birds that lived in the oak tree close by twittered, "How beautiful the little pine tree is now with its golden leaves!"
And the bees from the meadow beyond the woods buzzed, "How beautiful the little pine tree is now!"
How proud the little pine tree felt!
Then night came. Into the woods crept a man with a big, black bag. He picked off all the golden leaves from the little tree and stuffed them in his bag.
"I will sell them tomorrow in the city," he muttered. "Then I shall be very rich."
The poor little pine tree was all stripped and bare. It was very, very sad.
"Oh dear, oh dear," it whined. "I see now why it was not a good idea to have leaves of gold. How I wish I could have leaves of glass!
They would shine and glitter in the sun like the golden leaves, but no bad man would come to steal them."
That night the Fairy of the Trees came that way.
"Little pine tree," said the fairy, "you shall have your wish."
So the little pine tree fell asleep happily.
Once more the fairy kept her promise. In the morning when the little tree woke up, its branches were covered with beautiful leaves of clear glass.
The sun came up and said, "Good morning, little tree, what beautiful leaves you have now! But I can make them still more beautiful."
He turned his rays on the glass leaves and they began to sparkle and shine.
The little tree was happy again. The birds in the oak tree close by twittered, "How beautiful the little tree is now with its sparkling glass leaves!"
And the bees from the meadow beyond the wood buzzed, "How beautiful the little tree is now with its dazzling leaves of glass.”
And how proud the little tree was of itself!
The night came and the wind whistled through the woods, "Woo, woo, woo." It shook the branches of all the trees. It shook the little pine tree's leaves of glass. Crash, crash, they broke into a thousand pieces. Then the little tree was very, very sad.
"Oh dear, oh dear," it whined and complained. "I see now that it was not a good idea to have glass leaves. I wish I had big green leaves like the oak over there. The wind did not break the oak's leaves."
That night the Fairy of the Trees came that way.
"Little pine tree," it said, "you shall have your wish."
So the little pine tree fell asleep happily. In the morning when it woke up, its branches were covered with big green leaves like the oak's.
The sun came up. "Good morning, little tree," it said. "What beautiful leaves you have now! Not even I can make them any more beautiful."
The birds in the oak tree close by twittered, "What pretty green leaves the pine tree has now!"
And the bees from the meadow beyond the wood buzzed, "What pretty green leaves the little pine tree has now!"
And the little pine tree was very proud and happy.
"Now I am like all the other trees," it said.
That night Billy Goat came wandering through the woods. He saw the oak's big green leaves.
"What nice green leaves!" he said, "but they are too high up. I cannot reach them." Then he saw the little pine tree's big green leaves. They were so low he could reach them easily.
Munch, crunch, munch, crunch. Billy Goat ate up every one of the little pine tree's big green leaves.
The little pine tree was very sad indeed. It whined and complained: "The bad man stole my beautiful golden leaves. The wind broke my beautiful leaves of glass. And Billy Goat ate my beautiful big green leaves.
"I believe it would be better to have my own green needles after all. I wish I had my pretty green needles back again."
That night the Fairy of the Trees came that way.
"You shall have your wish, little pine tree," she said.
The next morning when the little pine tree woke up, its branches were covered with pine needles.
Then the little pine tree was happy. It was so glad to have its needles back. It said:
"The bad man will not steal my needles. The wind cannot break them and Billy Goat will not eat them. I am happy now. Needles are best for little pine trees."
|
