Randall The Redwood

Once upon a time there was a beautiful kingdom.  In this kingdom lived an amazing King and Queen who had many children.  Beside the castle was a vast fruit orchard.  It had every type of fruit tree and they produced the tastiest of fruit.  Sweet apples and oranges, lemons and limes, peaches and cherries were boundless and covered the hill beside the castle.

The men of the village would come every day to gather the lovely fruit for the King and Queen and all their many children to enjoy.

“Here they come,” said Archie the Apple tree.

“They have come to pick my delicious peaches again,” said Peter the Peach tree.

“They have come to gather all the fruit, Silly” replied Lewis the Lime tree.

“Oh, get ready, here they come” shouted Owen the Orange tree. The orchard trees lifted their branches, proudly awaiting the men with their buckets.

They all looked over at the incredibly tall redwood tree growing beside the orchard next to the castle.  He was looking over the wall of the castle as usual, watching the king’s children.  The fruit trees began to laugh at him.

“Look at Randall the Redwood, he has nothing to offer the children,” Charlotte the Cherry tree laughed.

Randall The Redwood

“It must be such a sad life being a Redwood,” Lucy the Lemon tree snickered.  They all pointed their branches at Randall the Redwood and laughed at him.

Randall the Redwood bowed his branches down and sighed.  He wished to have fruit like the others to please the King’s children.  He did get to watch the Kings children come into the yard every day.  They had painting lessons and archery lessons, sword lessons, and even dance lessons.  Randall watched them every day and learned to love them all.

Fun is Our Middle Name

The children worked so hard at their lessons.  They hoped to impress their royal parents.  The boys sharpened their swords and cleaned their shields.  They practiced wearing the heavy armor and saving damsels in distress.  The girls learned dances and mended their gowns.  They loved trying on slippers, although the glass ones were usually much too small and hurt their toes. The girls became the best archers and could hit the bullseye on the target board almost every time!

Randall loved to watch them grow and learn.  Their little faces serious in concentration, trying their best to get it right.  But most of all Randall loved to watch them find something funny and laugh.  Their faces would become dimpled, and their mouths turned up to show their beautiful white teeth.  It didn’t happen that often, so Randall dared not to look away.

When he saw the children laugh, it made him feel so wonderful deep down in his trunk and made his branches tingle and sway with excitement.  It was such a wonderful feeling, and he couldn’t wait for it to happen again and again.

That night a huge thunderstorm blew through the orchard.  The rain fell in sheets, and the wind blew hard.  Randall the Redwood knew his roots didn’t reach very deeply into the earth.  He began to swing and sway as the earth softened at his roots.  He began to lean farther and farther over until he fell to the ground with a thud.

“OH NO” Randall shouted!  “I will never be able to watch the King’s children play from here” he said.  “I will just end up laying here on the forest floor, useless,” he sighed.  The fruit trees didn’t even laugh.  They were very sad for poor Randall the Redwood.

Redwood trees on the coast grow 300 to 350 feet tall. 

The next morning the orchard workers came over to see the mighty redwood tree laying on the ground.  Even the King came to see the tallest tree in his kingdom lying flat. “Oh my,” the King said.  “I don’t like that my magnificent tree is destroyed,” he grimaced.

One of the workers stepped forward and spoke.  “My King, do you see these little cones on the ground? They contain Redwood seeds.  I can take the seeds of this mighty tree and grow many saplings.  I could plant them to grow all around your castle walls!” he exclaimed.  Randall listened.   “Wow, they would be like my Redwood children,” he thought. He liked this idea very much!

Another worker stepped forward as well and stated, ‘My King, I can take the wood of this tall and mighty tree and build a huge Redwood mountain for your many children to play on. It will bring much laughter and fun to their lives,’ he proposed. Randall LOVED this idea! He would be able to see the children every day, and bring them joy, he anticipated.

In response, the King stepped forward and declared, ‘SO SHALL IT BE DONE!’ he proclaimed. ‘I would love to have tall redwood trees like this one surrounding my castle walls. Additionally, my wonderful children work very hard at their lessons. They deserve a place just for playing and having fun,’ he reasoned.

Redwood is sustainable thanks to its carbon sequestration

The men began to work.  The amazing, wonderful playset was built, and it wasn’t long before Randall’s saplings surrounded the castle.  The King, the Queen and their children were thrilled with the men’s work.

Randall The Redwood

Randall Redwood’s trunk and limbs were now a tall Cabin with slides, a rock wall and a long set of swings!  There were fun games attached to him as well.

Every day after their lessons, the King’s Children came to play with Randall. He loved watching them laugh and sing as they climbed. Their warm bodies were like hugs to Randall. Moreover, he got to hear their laughter and see their sweet smiles daily! Even the fruit trees enjoyed Randall as a playset. Although they couldn’t see him, they loved the laughter they heard every day coming from the castle. The fruit trees also enjoyed telling Randall about how much his saplings were growing, with their young, new branches reaching toward the sun.

So, Randall Redwood was proud with all that had been done. Consequently, he had been made into an adventurous playset for the children and hundreds of trees to surround the castle.

The King was so pleased he started sharing buckets of his sweet orchard fruit with the villagers and their children. Furthermore, the village children were also invited to play on the new playset! Their laughter echoed far and wide throughout the land.

And so, the people, and even the trees of the Kingdom, lived happily ever after.