By Bill Conley, America’s Favorite
Children’s Storyteller
Moral to the Story:
Sometimes the most unexpected friendships grow the strongest roots.
A kind word can blossom into a bond that benefits everyone.
When you listen with your heart, you hear more than just words—you hear truth.
Working together makes the world safer, kinder, and more beautiful.
Big or small, old or young, we all have something to offer each other.
Friendship and unity grow strong when we nurture them with love and respect.
In the heart of the Great Green
Forest, where the sun sprinkled golden beams through the treetops and soft moss
blanketed the forest floor, a cheerful baby elephant named Ellie strolled
happily behind her parents. Her big floppy ears wiggled with every step, and
her trunk swayed like a ribbon dancing in the breeze.
“Stay close, Ellie,” her mom called
gently.
“I am!” Ellie chirped, though her
curiosity had already tugged her slightly off the trail.
As she wandered a few steps away,
Ellie heard something she never expected.
“Psst! Ellie! Over here!”
She turned quickly. “Who said that?”
“It’s me! Over here—by the berry
bush!”
Ellie tiptoed through the brush and
gasped. “A talking tree?!”
A tall, gentle tree with a wise
smile and a knot that looked just like a nose stood before her. Its branches
wiggled slightly like fingers.
“I’m Tommy,” the tree said. “Tommy
the Talking Tree. And I’ve been waiting to meet you.”
Ellie blinked. “Me? But I’m just a
little elephant.”
“Well,” Tommy chuckled, “even little
elephants have big hearts—and I can always sense a kind one.”
Ellie beamed. “Hi, Tommy! I’ve never
met a talking tree before.”
“Most trees don’t speak, but a few
of us in the forest do. We don’t always have something to say, but when we do,
it’s usually important.”
They talked for a long while. Tommy
told her about how trees breathe in carbon dioxide and give out oxygen. “We
clean the air, you know,” he said proudly.
Ellie listened with wide eyes.
“That’s amazing!”
She told Tommy about her favorite
things—splashing in the river, finding bananas, and walking with her family.
Tommy told her about the squirrel
choir that sang in his branches every morning and how his roots whispered
messages to other trees deep underground.
“I didn’t know trees talked to each
other!” Ellie exclaimed.
“Oh yes,” Tommy said. “We share
water, nutrients, even warnings. We’re quite the network.”
After a while, Ellie ran back to her
parents, bouncing with excitement.
“Mama! Papa! You’ve got to come see!
There’s a tree back there—a talking tree! His name is Tommy!”
“A talking tree?” her father
chuckled. “You must have been in the sun too long.”
“No, really!” Ellie insisted. “He’s
real, and he’s nice! Please come meet him!”
Her parents looked at each other,
shrugged, and smiled. “Alright, little explorer. Lead the way.”
They followed Ellie back down the
trail to the berry bush. Tommy stood tall and silent.
Ellie nudged him with her trunk.
“Tommy, these are my parents! Mama and Papa!”
After a pause, Tommy’s voice echoed
warmly through the leaves. “Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Elephant. What a pleasure to
meet you. Your daughter has the most wonderful heart.”
The two elephants stood frozen for a
moment, their eyes wide.
“She was telling the truth,”
Mama whispered.
Tommy chuckled. “I told Ellie that
if she or any of your family ever needed shade, a place to rest, or even just a
chat, we—the tree community—would be happy to help.”
From that day forward, a beautiful
friendship began to bloom between Ellie’s family and the trees of the forest.
Ellie often came back to visit
Tommy. Sometimes they talked about the stars. Tommy explained that he had seen
hundreds of moon cycles and could always sense when a storm was coming. “The
birds sing differently,” he explained, “and the wind carries stories.”
Other times, Ellie told him about
her dreams—how she wanted to grow strong and wise and one day help lead the
herd.
“You already lead with kindness,”
Tommy told her. “That’s the most important kind of leadership.”
Soon, other elephants grew curious
and began to visit the tree grove. The trees offered their shade on hot days,
dropped ripe fruit from their branches, and even held birds’ nests that alerted
the elephants of changes in the forest, like nearby danger or heavy rain.
The elephants helped too. They used
their trunks to clear fallen branches, kept waterholes clean, and made sure no
one trampled the young saplings.
One day, when a wildfire threatened
the western edge of the forest, Ellie’s father led the charge to bring water
from the river. Dozens of elephants formed a line, trunks filled with water,
spraying the flames while the trees signaled each other through rustling leaves
and cracking bark to shift wind patterns.
The fire was stopped. And the bond
grew even stronger.
Tommy watched it all from his rooted
spot with great pride. He knew that something special had started that day
Ellie had heard him whisper.
Poem to the Story:
A little trunk and leafy branch,
Met one day by happy chance.
She brought a heart, he brought the shade,
A gentle bond together made.
When worlds unite in sweet accord,
The forest blooms in rich reward.
Questions to Think About and Share:
1.
Why do you think Ellie was able to
hear Tommy the tree when others hadn’t before?
2.
How did the elephants and trees each
help one another?
3.
What can you do today to be a
bridge between different people, groups, or ideas—just like Ellie?
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