Lucy went deep into thought. "Can there be more than one moral to the story?" she asked.
"Without a doubt," Great Aunt Nature Walker assured her.
"How do you know if your morals are right?" Lucy asked.
"Well," Great Aunt Nature Walker replied, "if the story teaches you something good and kind or gives you a thought to take with you through your life, then it's right."
Hannah who who liked to think her thoughts without worrying about them said simply,
"Be kind all Dora wood."
"A very good moral, indeed!" exclaimed Great Aunt Nature Walker.
Lucy said, "Everything wood is made out of a tree." And then she sat quietly thinking about this. For it was easy to say thank her mother and father and Great Aunt Nature Walker when they did things for her. But it was hard to know exactly what to say to a tree for all it went through to become a door or a chair or a floor or part of a wall in a house.
"You know," said Great Aunt Nature Walker, smiling at Lucy, "sometimes just looking quietly at trees and appreciating all they give to us and the earth is a good thing. It's also nice to take time to appreciate all the people who work to bring things made of wood to us."
And then they walked around Great Aunt Nature Walker's house looking at things made out of wood and seeing all the Wood Spirits still alive in that wood.
"Do you have a moral?" Lucy asked Great Aunt Nature Walker.
"Why, yes," she replied. "Even though I knew Adora Birch's story, I am now
thinking about change in a new way. Maybe a person's life is like Adora Birch's tree. Remember how that tree went round and round in the machine until the tree itself was just a stack of sheets. But even though it is no longer a birch tree, it is now part of many doors that are being used to keep people safe and warm in their houses. Perhaps even after we do something to help others, it keeps on helping them in ways we don't know."
"But," said Lucy, "I never want to change."
Great Aunt Nature Walker smiled and without a word showed Lucy and Hannah three other pictures.
"Well," said Lucy, "maybe some change is okay."
And with that thought, Great Aunt Nature Walker went to the wood box to get Woody the Stove a new log for his lunch. But before she gave Woody his luncheon log, she held it up and asked Lucy and Hannah, "Who do we thank for keeping us warm?"
"A tree," they said together.
"Indeed," replied Great Aunt Nature Walker.
Lucy looked up at Adora Birch and wondered if the little Wood Spirit had a lesson in mind.
As if reading Lucy's mind, Adora Birch said, "You know, I once wished my tree and I could have been a Christmas tree, all covered in lights and sparkly balls and tinsel. But then I thought that would be good for a Christmas tree. But I am a birch tree. And my job in life is to be a good door. Being an excellent door is more fun than wishing to be what I am not."
And with that, Adora Birch smiled out at them from her door and from all the trees that had ever been since the first tree grew out of the Earth over 430,000,000 years before.
"Without a doubt," Great Aunt Nature Walker assured her.
"How do you know if your morals are right?" Lucy asked.
"Well," Great Aunt Nature Walker replied, "if the story teaches you something good and kind or gives you a thought to take with you through your life, then it's right."
Hannah who who liked to think her thoughts without worrying about them said simply,
"Be kind all Dora wood."
"A very good moral, indeed!" exclaimed Great Aunt Nature Walker.
Lucy said, "Everything wood is made out of a tree." And then she sat quietly thinking about this. For it was easy to say thank her mother and father and Great Aunt Nature Walker when they did things for her. But it was hard to know exactly what to say to a tree for all it went through to become a door or a chair or a floor or part of a wall in a house.
"You know," said Great Aunt Nature Walker, smiling at Lucy, "sometimes just looking quietly at trees and appreciating all they give to us and the earth is a good thing. It's also nice to take time to appreciate all the people who work to bring things made of wood to us."
And then they walked around Great Aunt Nature Walker's house looking at things made out of wood and seeing all the Wood Spirits still alive in that wood.
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| Computer Desk |
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| Deck |
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| Dining Room Table |
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| Floor |
"Do you have a moral?" Lucy asked Great Aunt Nature Walker.
"Why, yes," she replied. "Even though I knew Adora Birch's story, I am now
thinking about change in a new way. Maybe a person's life is like Adora Birch's tree. Remember how that tree went round and round in the machine until the tree itself was just a stack of sheets. But even though it is no longer a birch tree, it is now part of many doors that are being used to keep people safe and warm in their houses. Perhaps even after we do something to help others, it keeps on helping them in ways we don't know."
"But," said Lucy, "I never want to change."
Great Aunt Nature Walker smiled and without a word showed Lucy and Hannah three other pictures.
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| Lucy |
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| Hannah |
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| Guess Who! |
"Well," said Lucy, "maybe some change is okay."
And with that thought, Great Aunt Nature Walker went to the wood box to get Woody the Stove a new log for his lunch. But before she gave Woody his luncheon log, she held it up and asked Lucy and Hannah, "Who do we thank for keeping us warm?"
"A tree," they said together.
"Indeed," replied Great Aunt Nature Walker.
Lucy looked up at Adora Birch and wondered if the little Wood Spirit had a lesson in mind.
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| Adora Birch at Christmas |
And with that, Adora Birch smiled out at them from her door and from all the trees that had ever been since the first tree grew out of the Earth over 430,000,000 years before.
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