The Story of the Forest Elves
You see, in the forest, every tree has an elf and every elf has a tree. Acorn lived in the oak tree. Dutch lived in the elm tree. Goldie lived in the aspen tree. And Piñon (pronounced Pinyon) lived in the pine tree. Every morning the sun would come out and call the elves from their trees. The elves would come out from their tree homes and run all around the forest from tree to tree. They would visit one another and play elfin games. Generally they had a wonderful time.
Once each season the elves would meet at one of their trees for a special meal. In the spring Acorn would invite the others to his oak tree. Acorn ran through the spring blossoms to the elm tree and said, “Dutch, come to the oak for lunch.” Dutch said, “OK, see you there.” Acorn ran to the aspen tree and said, “Goldie, come to the oak tree for lunch.” Goldie said, “OK, see you there.” Acorn ran to the pine tree and asked Piñon to come to lunch. Piñon said, “OK, see you there.” When they all met at the oak, they found a beautiful elfin table set on the top of a new tree that was just beginning to sprout. They sat on spring flowers that were just peeking out of the ground. For lunch they had new mushrooms from the forest. And to drink, little leaf cups of dew because dew is an elf’s favorite drink. When they finished with lunch they all ran around playing their elfin games until they were very tired and the sky grew darker and darker and the evening star came out. There was a beautiful sunset that evening and each elf went home to his own tree; Acorn back to the oak, Dutch to the elm, Goldie to the aspen, and Piñon to the pine.
In the summer it was Dutch’s turn to invite the other elves to the elm tree. He went to Acorn at the oak and said, “Acorn come to the elm tree for lunch.” Acorn said, “OK, see you there.” Dutch hurried on to the aspen and said, “Goldie come to the elm tree for lunch.” Goldie said, “OK, see you there.” Dutch ran through the tall summer grass to the pine where he caught up with Piñon. Dutch said, “Piñon, come to the elm tree for lunch.” Piñon said, “OK, see you there.” So they all gathered at the elm tree but when the other three got there, Dutch was nowhere to be seen. They waited but...no Dutch. They called out his name but...still no Dutch. Just as the others were about to leave, BOO! Dutch jumped out from behind the trunk of his great elm and surprised them. He invited them behind his tree where they found shade from the hot summer sun. They had ripe summer berries to eat. And guess what they had to drink? That’s right! Little leaf cups of dew for each elf because dew is an elf’s favorite drink. That afternoon all the elves ran from tree to tree playing their elfin games until they were all tired out. The evening star rose and the sky darkened telling the elves to go back to their own special trees for the night. Acorn went back to the oak tree. Dutch went back to the elm. Goldie went back to the aspen. Piñon went back to the pine. They all slept very quietly through the entire night.
In the autumn Goldie asked everyone to the aspen tree for lunch. She ran to the oak and asked Acorn, “Come to the aspen tree for lunch.” Acorn said, “OK, see you there.” Goldie ran on to the elm where she found Dutch hiding behind the trunk. Goldie said, “Come to the aspen tree for lunch.” Dutch said, “OK, see you there.” Goldie hurried through the piles of autumn leaves to the pine tree and good old Piñon. Goldie said “Come to the aspen tree for lunch.” Piñon said, “OK, see you there.” So they all met at the aspen but when the other three got there, Goldie was nowhere to be seen. They waited but...no Goldie. They called her name but...still no Goldie. They tiptoed around behind the white trunk of the aspen tree to see if she was hiding but still...no Goldie. All of a sudden Acorn felt something land on his head. It was a glowing reddish gold color and it floated gently down from the sky. Then another something just like it landed on Dutch’s head like a hat. Soon Piñon was wearing a golden hat as well. They looked up to see what was happening. There was Goldie dropping aspen leaves out of the top of her tree. She invited them up into the branches where she had prepared a meal of nuts to eat. And, that’s right, they had dew in small leaf cups to drink because dew is an elf’s favorite drink. That afternoon they played their elfin games until they were all tired out. The evening star rose to tell them all it was time to go back to their trees, each to his own special tree. Acorn ran back to the oak, Dutch to the elm, Goldie to the aspen, and Piñon to the pine.
In the winter Piñon invited everyone to his pine tree. He ran through the snow to the oak and said to Acorn, “Come to the pine tree for lunch.” Acorn said, “OK, see you there.” Piñon ran to the elm and found Dutch hiding behind the trunk. Piñon said, “Dutch, come to the pine tree for lunch.” Dutch said “OK, see you there.” Piñon hurried on to the aspen and found Goldie clinging to a bare branch high up in the sky. Piñon said, “Goldie, come to the pine tree for lunch.” Goldie said, “OK, see you there.” When the other three got there, Piñon was nowhere to be seen. They waited and called his name but...no Piñon. They looked behind the trunk and up into the branches but...still no Piñon. The snow was falling so they found protection under the evergreen branches of the pine. They were happy for the warmth for their own trees had lost all their leaves for the winter. It was very strange but they heard some humming from under the ground. As they investigated the sound they found a little entrance between the gnarly roots of the old pine. They walked down under the roots and there was Piñon humming merrily and preparing special roots for their winter meal. But this time, they had small leaf cups of melted snow to drink for melted snow is an elf’s second favorite drink. All afternoon they played elfin games running through the snow from tree to tree until the evening star rose telling them it was time to return to their trees.
They all fell fast asleep in their own special trees. They dreamed of the wonderful meal they would have in the spring...and whose tree they might meet at...and what wonderful things they might have to eat...and what wonderful games they might play...and the dew they might drink. You see, this is the way it is in the forest; each elf having his own tree and each tree having his own elf from season to season, beginning to end, forever and ever
The Forest Elves by C. Walker ©03