One day Thomas decided to
have a picnic on the banks of the river that ran
through the nearby wood.
“Mum, can I have a packed
lunch today? I'm going into the woods to do some
sketching.”
“You and your drawings,” said
Mum. “Okay give me a few minutes.”
Thomas used this time to
throw a few things into his backpack and then he was off. It was a glorious
day, the Sun bursting with light casting pretty shadows across the wood. As a
budding artist Thomas could see the beauty of nature and this was perfect for
sketching. He found himself a seat on
the trunk of a tree and started to draw a picture of the tree on the opposite
side of the bank. It had been cut down recently and had fallen across the river
at an angle. A once magnificent tree covered in pretty blossom.
Thomas stopped to take a
break for lunch and lay back on the bank listening
to the birds busy about their
work. He tried to imagine a life without
the sound
of birds, it was unthinkable.
What a sad world it would be, without the animals of the wood; foxes,
squirrels, badgers, hedgehogs...
“Psst.” Thomas looked around
but saw nothing. He continued with his list;
birds, insects, frogs,
herons, fish...
“Psst.” Thomas jumped up and
looked around but saw nothing out of the
ordinary. He decided to carry
on with his sketch and that's when he noticed part
of the tree in his drawing
was missing. Puzzled he decided to
investigate. Climbing onto the trunk of
the tree he scrambled over to the other side of the
bank. As he jumped down from the tree he heard the
now familiar sound,
“Psst.” He swung round
quickly and was shocked to see a little man in
front of him.
“Oh a gnome,” said Thomas in
shock. The little man was floating about 10cms
off the ground and was about
20cms in height. He wore three quarter length trousers and a hat with three
triangles in orange, yellow and blue. His face was a brownish grey colour and
he had a long curved, smiling mouth, with small eyes and a flat nose. He appeared to be floating with a backward
motion, and had a very proud look on his face.
He was standing beside the tree that Thomas had been sketching. He didn't speak, but somehow Thomas sensed
that he wanted him to know that this was his home. He wanted him to feel the love for the tree
that he also felt.
Thomas asked, “Are you a
gnome?” The gnome didn't reply but sensed to
Thomas, “No I'm a Tree
Spirit.”
“Is this your tree?” he
asked, and the Tree Spirit sensed back that indeed it was his tree and had been
his home until it had been cut down, now he was homeless.
Just at that moment a
beautiful orange butterfly flew past and the Tree Spirit turned and waved a
friendly farewell to her.
“Do you know that butterfly?”
asked Thomas.
“Yes,” sensed the Tree
Spirit, “she was one of my pets but as I no longer have
my own home she must move on
and try to find a new home for herself.”
Thomas sat down on the tree
and traced his hands across the flowers so prettily draped on the dying trunk.
“Did you grow these flowers?”
he asked.
“Yes I'm very house proud,”
sensed the spirit.
“Why did you speak to me?”
“I'm desperate, oh, no
offence. Its not usual for Spirits to talk to humans but I have seen you here
many times and I know that you have special feelings for the wood and the
trees. Not to mention the wildlife,” sensed the spirit. “My butterfly has lost her home. I have lost
the eggs from the nests I had in my branches and I must find a new home for my
pet mouse, squirrel and snail before the winter comes.”
“Well what's your
problem? Just put them in another tree,”
said Thomas.
“All the trees in the wood have
their own spirits and pets, there is no room for
the spirits left homeless
when trees are knocked down and not replaced,” sensed the spirit sadly. “The
only thing that can save me is if I can find a newly planted tree which doesn’t
yet have its own spirit.”
“Hmm,” said Thomas. “I really
don't know how I can help. It's not that I don't
want to help you, it's just,
well I'm only a boy, what can I do?”
“You could persuade your Mum
to plant a tree in the woods, then I would have
a new home instantly,” sensed
the spirit grinning, suddenly looking much
happier.
“Mum always said she meant to
plant a tree when I was born, I don't think she ever got round to it. I could
try to persuade her to do it now,” said Thomas.
Thomas started to think of
how he could get his Mum to plant a tree in the wood. In his garden perhaps but in the wood,
now that would take some
explaining.
“I realise that,” sensed the
spirit.
“You realise what?” said
Thomas.
“That your Mum would think it
odd that you wanted to plant a tree in the wood
rather than in your own
garden.”
“How did you know what I was
thinking?” asked Thomas.
“Oh, did I not mention, I can
read minds. That's how I knew I would be
safe talking to you,” he sensed back.
“Oh, how very clever of you,”
said Thomas chuckling to himself.
“Do you think you will be
able to persuade your Mum to plant a tree before the
winter comes,” he sensed.
“Well I will have a jolly
good try,” said Thomas. “What will you do in the
meantime and what will happen
to your pets?”
“Do you think it might be
possible for me to come home with you tonight?
My
neighbours will give my pets
shelter until I return and I would love to see where you live,” he sensed. “At least I'll know whether or not
I can keep them when I get back.”
“Home with me, whatever will
Mum say,” thought Thomas.
The spirit jumped onto
Thomas's right shoe and hugging his leg sensed “easy
don't tell her.”
“I really couldn't do that, I
always tell Mum the truth and I never keep secrets
from her,” said Thomas.
“How odd you are Thomas, but
somehow I sense that you're right. Maybe we
could just tell your Mum, do
you think she will give me away?” sensed the
spirit.
“No, not at all. In fact I
think she'll be tickled pink with you,” said Thomas
laughing. “Well come on then
gnome, lets go and find Mum before we lose our
nerve.”
“Gosh what's Mum going to
say?” thought Thomas.
“Don't worry,” sensed the
gnome, “I'm sure everything will be fine.”
“Oh, I must watch what I
think,” thought Thomas and then laughed when he
realised the gnome would have
sensed that too.
When he looked around the
gnome was grinning. Thomas lifted him up
carefully and rested him on
his arm. “Are you comfortable?” asked Thomas.
“Well, yes I am, but I think
I should hide in your backpack or you will have some odd questions to answer
before we get home.”
Thomas tied his bag onto his
back and kneeled down so that the spirit could
climb inside.
“Pull that tie on the top and
nobody will see you,” said Thomas.
“Well maybe not me but
certainly my hat,” sensed the spirit.
“Take your hat off and put it
in the bag then,” replied Thomas.
“My head will stick out
then,” he sensed.
Thomas roared with laughter.
“I'm sorry, I didn't realised you had a pointed
head as well.”
“You live and learn,”
chuckled the spirit.
“Are you getting smaller?”
asked Thomas.
“Yes, unfortunately I will
continue to get smaller the longer I am away from my
tree. If I don't find a new home soon I will shrink
to nothing and vanish. I am
about 10cms smaller than
usual because I have been away from my home for
so long,” sensed the gnome.
“Well let's not waste another
moment,” said Thomas.
“No let's not, gee up horsy,”
sensed the spirit banging Thomas on the side
of his backpack to get him
moving.
“I'm home Mum,” shouted
Thomas.
“Great, leave your shoes at
the back door and wash your hands for tea. Did
you did you manage to produce
any good sketches?” enquired Mum.
“Yes I've got one I'm pleased
with,” said Thomas.
The Tree Spirit chose now to
pop his head out of the bag to catch a glimpse
of Thomas's Mum.
Well she looks kind he
thought, I just hope she isn't the type that runs screaming just because she's
seen a mouse, you'd be surprised how many women are like that.
“Muuum,” drawled Thomas.
“Oh yes and what have you
been up to?” asked Mum.
Gosh she can sense things too
thought the spirit.
Thomas started to tell his
Mum the story of his day, just as it happened.
When he got to the bit about
meeting the spirit she said, “Oh what a wonderful story, you must write this
down.”
“Mum don't interrupt me until
I'm finished,” said Thomas.
Thomas continued his story
where he left off, when he finished his Mum said, “How marvellous.” That was a
really lovely story, I did enjoy it. Did
you know that when I was a
little girl I used to feel sure that one day I would
meet a Leprechaun at the
bottom of my garden? I used to spend hours outside
just waiting for him to
appear and speak to me. Of course, he never did.”
“Mum I'm not telling you a
story I am telling you the truth. This is true and I
can prove it if you promise
to keep it a secret. Let me introduce you to a friend
of mine,” said Thomas.
Thomas opened the backpack
and asked the spirit to come out. He didn't. He was terrified of grown up's.
Thomas realised his fear and gently lifted him out of the bag and placed him on
the kitchen table, you should have seen the look on Mum's face, she nearly
fainted. She started to sway with shock so Thomas sat her down and slowly told
her the story again. This time the spirit was chipping in with his part of the
story and by the time they had finished Thomas's Mum cried, “You poor little
man, of course we must help you.”
“Gosh so many trees have been
cut down in the wood lately you must have lots
of friends who are homeless
too.”
“Yes, sadly two of my best
friends are homeless,” he sensed.
“What can we do to help him
Mum?” asked Thomas.
“What can we do to help him?”
echoed Mum, “Lots. First of all you can both
wash your hands and have
something to eat, then we will work out our plan of
action. You never get
anywhere without a plan. What do you eat little man?” asked Mum.
“I love tomatoes,” sensed the
spirit.
“Right, you can have a salad
too Thomas, maybe your new friend can influence
you to eat properly. Thomas,
get the little chair I keep for my doll.
It's in the attic, little man can use that so he can reach the table and
eat with us,” said Mum.
“Okay, come on little man
lets go and look for it while Mum makes the tea.”
The Tree Spirit sensed to
Thomas, “Why does your Mum keep calling me little
man?”
“Oh that's because she likes
you and thinks you're cute,” replied Thomas.
“Oh good, I like her too,”
sensed the gnome, blushing.
They found the chair, brought
it down to the kitchen and placed it on a chair at the table; now little man
could join them.
“You have a lovely home Mrs
Mum,” sensed the tree spirit to Thomas's Mum.
“Thank you,” she replied,
“and you will soon. Now its time for our plan of action,” said Mum. “When we
finish eating I want little man to hide in your
backpack again and we will
take ourselves off to the garden centre and see what they have on offer. Dad is
away tonight but when he gets back in the morning I shall ask him to plant the
tree in the woods. We may need to tell Dad the truth because without his help
we couldn't possibly dig a hole big enough to take the roots of the trees, so
they can spread and grow into a beautiful home for little man.”
“Okay Mum, but remember it
must be a secret for our family alone.”
After tea they set off for
the garden centre, the spirit peeking out of the top of
Thomas's backpack. As they
drove past the wood the spirit was thinking
“Don't worry wood I will soon
return.”
“Don't worry little man,”
said Mum, “you will soon be back in your wood,
happier than ever.”
“Yikes I will have to be
careful what I think,” sensed the spirit chuckling.
When they got to the garden
centre they were surprised to find how many
different varieties of tree
they had for sale.
“This one's pretty,” said
Mum.
“Yes it is, sensed the
spirit, “but the best tree would be an
Oak I could live happily ever after in that.”
“You're right,” said Mum. “We
have an Oak in our garden that's 400 years old, now that would be a long time.”
The spirit was that excited
he jumped clean out of the backpack and landed
at Thomas's feet grinning
from ear to ear. He jumped onto Thomas's foot and
hugged his leg.
“I have a tree house in my Oak
tree,” said Thomas.
“My Oak tree is my house,”
sensed the spirit. “So now we are like brothers.”
“Well you always wanted a
baby brother Thomas, now it looks as though you
have one,” said Mum laughing.
“Three Oak trees please,”
said Mum to the cashier.
“Three,” said Thomas.
“Three,” sensed the spirit.
“Yes, its just how I'm
feeling today. I'm so excited to help that I feel as though I'd like to plant
an entire wood,” said Mum happily.
They took the trees home and
left them in the garden in preparation for Thomas's Dad planting them into the
wood.
Thomas's Dad, hmm, thought
Mum, I wonder what he will make of all this?
“Well boys its time for bed.
It would be rather nice if you could spend the night
here little man and go home
with the trees in the morning. That is unless someone is expecting you back in
the wood tonight?”
“Well actually, no,” sensed
the spirit blushing, “I did tell the other spirits
not to expect me till
morning.”
“No problem then,” said Mum,
“By the way did you know that you look just
like an apple when you
blush?”
This made the little Tree
Spirit blush even more.
“Can we sleep in the tree
house tonight Mum?” asked Thomas.
“That's a great idea, I'll
make up a tuck box for you in case you get hungry
during the night. Don't
hesitate to shout me if you get frightened Thomas.”
“He won't get frightened with
me,” sensed the spirit.
“Thomas sometimes finds it
difficult to sleep because he hears so many noises
at night which usually stop
him from sleeping.”
“Well Mrs Mum,” sensed the
spirit, “I will explain all the noises of the night
and he will never be scared
again.”
Thomas and the Tree Spirit
could hardly contain themselves they were so
excited. They collected some
blankets from the linen cupboard, picked up
the tuck box and of course
Thomas took his watercolour crayons with him.
He was determined by morning
he would have a picture of his new friend that
he could keep forever. It
would be his most treasured possession. Little man explained the noises of the
night to Thomas. He told him how the hooting owls were preparing themselves for
the winter, many of the local birds having already started to fly off to warmer
climates.
“The autumn is a very busy
time for gardens and woods. This is the time
that little people, as you
call them, make themselves very busy preparing for
winter. Now is the best time
to plant trees. Which is why, having seen you in the wood many times before, I
waited until now to approach you. The wood is
alive with Tree Spirits,
gnomes, fairies and elves, all busy using their power to create a beautiful
world.”
Do you remember the time when
you were sledging and you went so fast you ended up in the stream in Totom's
Wood?” asked Little Man.
“Yes, I do, did I see you
that night, I saw something up on the hill but couldn't make out what it was?”
asked Thomas.
“Me and a few friends, we
came from under cover because we thought you may have hurt yourself but you
just laughed, brushed off the snow and tried again,” said Little Man chuckling.
“Gosh I remember thinking
that looks like a little man from here and it turns out I was right. I do wish
we could have been friends since then,” said Thomas laughing.
“You will always be our
friend Thomas, from this day forward. Well it must be time for us to get some
sleep. Sleep well and promise you will never again be afraid of the noises of
the night.”
“I promise,” said Thomas
sleepily.
They tucked themselves up
into their sleeping bags and were fast asleep within
minutes. Well it had been a
busy and most unusual day.
Thomas woke first to the
sounds of the birds busy about their work. He looked
down at the little man beside
him and couldn't help wishing the Tree Spirit
could stay with him forever.
He would have to be brave today because he knew
little man was smaller than
ever and the chances are he would leave today and
he would not see his 'baby
brother' again. He took out his sketch pad and drew
a picture of the little man
cosily tucked up inside his sleeping bag. He would
certainly miss this little
man. The Tree Spirit yawned, stretched
and shook
himself awake.
“Heavens, it's not at all
like me to be up after the birds. That's what comes of
not having my own tree to
look after,” sensed the spirit.
“Come on, breakfast time, I'm
starving,” shouted Thomas. They ran into the
kitchen full speed ahead.
“Goodness me you two are
lively this morning, sit down I'll have everything ready in a tic,” said Mum.
The boys ate heartily in
preparation for all the hard work they had ahead of
them.
“Well boys it's time to go
down to the wood. I think it would be best for the
time being if little man
stayed in your backpack, just until your Dad has planted
the trees,” said Mum.
“But why?” asked Thomas. “I
thought you were going to explain everything to
Dad.”
“I was, but well, it's not
easy explaining something like fairies and gnomes to
someone like Dad. I'm sure he
would think I’d gone potty.”
“Perhaps your right,”
chuckled Thomas.
So for the final time the
Tree Spirit slipped himself into Thomas's backpack but
not before taking one last
look around the garden and speaking to the fairies, gnomes and leprechauns that
lived there.
“Look after this beautiful
garden for Mrs Mum. She works very hard and it gives her great pleasure.
Goodbye, it has been nice to meet you,” sensed the
spirit.
They set off for the wood in
Mum's sports car so they could remove the roof and the trees could stick out of
the top. They looked an odd bunch, even without a gnome in the back.
After much work on Dad's part
the three trees were planted on the bank of the
river. Not too far apart, so that little man's
friends where nearby and not too close that they might obstruct each other in a
couple of hundred years time.
“Thanks Dad,” said Thomas
hugging his father.
“My pleasure son, I'm just
glad to see you taking an interest in your
environment. In fact I’m very
proud of you,” said Dad. “The little people
of today are the adults of
tomorrow and if they were all like you Mother Earth would have nothing to fear.
Anyway, I hope you don't mind I have to leave; I'm due back in the office. See
you both tonight.”
Mum and Thomas waved him off,
the spirit also waved but from inside the
safety of his backpack.
“Gosh for a moment there I
thought he knew all about me when he said the
little people,” sensed the
spirit.
“So did I, I jumped out of my
skin until I realised he meant children,” said
Thomas laughing.
Thomas's Mum was watching her
son and the gnome running and laughing
together. She felt a pang as
she realised just how sad it would be when the time
to say goodbye finally
arrived. I hope Thomas will be able to
understand why Little Man has to go back to his own world, she thought to
herself.
“Lunch is ready,” she
shouted.
They came and sat beside her
on the picnic rug and ate everything in sight.
Such was their appetite after a night in the fresh air.
“Right boys, its time to tidy
up. I want to plant some bulbs around your tree
little man and when they come
up every year it will be a reminder to you of the day we spent together,” said
Mum trying to sound cheerful.
They managed to finish all
the work just as it was getting dark.
“It really is time we were
going Thomas,” said Mum.
“I know,” he replied.
Thomas's Mum pulled Little
Man towards her and hugged him.
“We have to go now little
man,” she said. “I want you to know that it's been
an enormous pleasure to have
met you. Most of all though, I want to thank you
for making my childhood
dreams come true. I always knew that one day I would meet a little man like
you. I hope you will accept this parcel of little
gifts,” she said.
“Oh yes, thank you,” sensed
the spirit. “Can I open it now?”
“Yes please do,” said Mum.
Thomas and his Mum sat down
on the bank to watch his little face crinkle in
delight as he opened his gifts. First, a new hat she had knitted for him
herself complete with three triangles, then a pin cushion for him to sit on in
his new home and finally a tiny gold chain with a heart on it.
“This is especially for you,
because you will always be in my heart,” she said.
The Tree Spirit hugged her
and sensed, “Thanks Mrs Mum.”
Mum said, “If you ever need
us again you know where to find us, just come up to Little House anytime and
good luck to you and your friends in your new homes. Goodbye little man.”
Mum kissed him on the top of
his head, then turned and walked to the top of the
bank leaving Thomas to say
his goodbyes.
Little Man turned to Thomas
and hugged his leg, “I'd like to give you a gift as
well,” said Thomas. “It's
something from my precious box at home, a pretty
stone I found when I was on
holiday in Jamaica. It would make a lovely door
stop for you. Also a tiny picture I have drawn for your
living room.”
“Thank you, they will always
be precious to me. I'd like to give you a brooch in the colours of your energy,
I didn't think you'd want a hat like mine,” sensed the Tree Spirit chuckling.
“I hope you will keep it
always to remember me as I will your gifts.
Remember Mother Earth is very proud of you,” he sensed.
Thomas said his goodbyes and
walking to the top of the bank he wiped a tear
from his eye before turning
to wave once more. Sadly the Tree Spirit was
nowhere to be seen.
“BE HAPPY,” shouted Thomas.
“I WILL,” sensed the Tree Spirit.
Totom's wood was planted at the Millenium 2000 in appreciated of all Tree Spirits everywhere.
This book was inspired after reading Living in Two Worlds by Jane Roberts where she talks about trees having spirits which at that time I had not heard of but could completely relate to through my love of trees. I hope you enjoy it and can see that some normal things can come out of intense thinking. Thank You. x