One morning as an old woman was going to fetch her water, she noticed a little tree growing by the side of the path. That poor little tree! It was more like a twig standing upright in the ground, with a few skinny branches and a handful of withered leaves.
Great Aunt Ruby had a very unusual suitcase. Quinn put her hands on one latch, and Sam put his hand on the other . . . and then – with a snap and a squeal, with a squeak and a sproing, with a shiver and a shimmy and a shake – that suitcase began to unfold itself!
At first Little Bear was excited when the apple tree’s leaves began to change colour. But as the weather got colder, she grew worried. Not only were the leaves changing from green to gold, they were falling to the ground. How would the little apple tree survive without its leaves?
It’s hard work scrubbing the sky – washing away all the dust, and grime, and soot, and smoke. But Jeremiah and his three uncles weren’t afraid of hard work! They started in the east and worked their way west, singing as they went: “Rub a dub-dub, it’s time for a scrub.”
“Trees can’t walk,” the big trees told the little maple. “It’s impossible!”
But the little maple was absolutely determined to see the world beyond the forest. And if that meant pulling its roots from the ground and becoming the very first tree to walk – well, so be it.
Thorin Thistlebottom had everything an elf could want: a little house in the roots of an oak tree, a soft little bed, even a set of dishes made from acorn caps. But more than anything, Thorin loved his fancy waistcoat, with buttons in every colour of the rainbow.
Little Beetle has an important message to deliver to the far side of the mountain – but it’s a long way through the deep, dark forest! Can his friends help Little Beetle get to the top before it’s too late?
There were once four sisters who got along very well – until Winter decided she wasn’t going to let Spring have her turn. Poor Spring! She tried to wake the sleeping bears, but when they peeked out and felt the icy wind – when they saw how much snow still covered the ground – they just shivered, and went back to sleep.
Teeny, tiny Timbo was so tiny, that he spent the first year of his life in an empty goldfish bowl. It wasn’t so bad. He had a teeny, tiny crib from his sister’s dollhouse, and a teeny, tiny rug to go on the floor, and he even had his own teeny, tiny teddy bear.
Every summer, teams of brave marmoteers go up into the mountains to help the endangered marmots of Vancouver Island. Special thanks go to Kevin Gourlay and the Marmot Recovery Foundation for helping me tell this real-life adventure!
Photo credit: Marmot Recovery Foundation