Living Trees

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. Inside the old witch sat at a table waiting for the girl to visit. She was told when the moon was full she would meet the witch that she had met in the market whom she paid for a pair of handmade wooden shoes. The girl found a path in the forest lighted by the moon as she followed the map the bruja had drawn. The wind was blowing its shadowy mists of fog among the scattering fall tree leaves as she could see the lit window and the silloutte of the old women. Knocking upon the door with her velvet cape and hat, it opened with a slight creek where the women greeted her with a smile. "Come in my pretty" the door opened more letting the young girl step inside the small hut. There was not much inside but a table and small cot. "I have your shoes for you" She said as she held out a pair of wood carved clogs that the girl took and slipped on, putting her others in her bag. "They are beautiful" The girl exclaimed as she gazed down at their likness. "Tell me how you carved these?" The bruja looked down for a moment and muttered, "It is a old secret that can not be told" "But i would like to know, please tell me" Her big eyes seemed to beg. " Look over there." The women gestured to the wood table where suddenly next to the candle appeared a crystal ball. "Sit down and I will tell as much as I know." The two sat opposite each other in chairs that matched the table. The witch put her hands upon the orb talking slowly, beginning a story... " Far off upon another world there lived the tree people." As she spoke the ball began to reviel a picture she could see of trees that stood high in the sky where tiny faces appeared within the bark. "Those trees have faces!" The girl exclaimed.""Yes, and arms too" Waving her hands more, arms of wood dangled down with extended fingers. "What do they have to do with my shoes?" "They are good craftsmen, with their sticklike fingers they can make shoes, but they exist somewhere else, that is forbidden for you to go.

The two sat across from each other at the table eyeing the tress inside the glass orb when suddenly the trees began to move, where Tree like legs appeared as they started to run! "Oh no!" The witch exclaimed as she watched the earth tearing open with moving roots extracting themselves from the soiled earth. "Where are they going?" The girl asked. "I dont know but i have to help them." The witch grabed her broom in the corner and ran outside, hoping on, flying into the moonlit sky. THe girl ran after her, grabing hold of the broomstick, hanging on for dear life. The witch tried to shake her off swirving left and right, but the girl hung on. IF she landed to drop the girl off, she might be too late to save the trees. She kept going. Merging with the other world was not easy to do, but she knew how to find it by pinpointing certain stars that lie in its path. And then through a small portal they emerged, decending down upon what seemed like a hidden holographic world. The tiny broomstick made a silloutte upon the yellowed moon like a tiny eclipsed planet. Down down they decended until it landed letting the two touch their feet upon the ground. The witches eyes lit up in anger, "I told you, you were not allowed!" The girl looking down said, sorry. "Well now that your here, you can help me brew a potion to call the trees back" Her eyes surveying the area where the trees had been, her long pointed nose revealing a wart that the girl hadnt noticed before. "What is your given name, if I do so ask?" Broom Hilda of course! Whats yours? The girl looked downward again and shrugged her shoulders, " I havnt a name, but you can call me, Girl " "Alright then, maybe I'll give you name if you earn it" she shyly looked around at the world they were in, "Its a big place isnt it?" The wind was blowing the grass around their feet, the witch replied, "Yes it is, much bigger then on earth." Her eyes twinkled under the stars above. "what do you call this place?" The two stood opposite each other, with similar black robes blowing with the grass. " We and others here call this place, the Mother." "Is this the Mother of Earth? Mother Earth?" She answered, "It very well may be"

"Well we need to get started right away, take your pretty little hat and find these three ingreediants, a wisp of straw, a tin flower, and a lionsmane mushroom. It shouldnt take you long as she drew on a paper what they looked like, handing the list to the girl. It wasnt difficult finding the straw, the field had plenty of it within the grasses, a field of flowers nearby she found with a variety of shapes and colors. She couldnt find one made of tin until she saw one brightly reflecting like a neon light illunimating. She touched the surface of the flower, and sure enough it was made of metal, and so she plucked it. The last ingreediant of a lionsmane mushroom was hardest to find. She almost gave up until she saw what looked like a small dwarf motioning her to follow. He was waving his hand, and seemed to say, "this way" She followed him until they were at the entrance of a small cave, where he dissappeared inside. Tiptoeing in, ever so carefully, girl discovered a glowing batch of mushrooms next to a stream underneath a cealing of earth that had a hole to let in moonlight. She quickly sorted through the varieties of shrooms, refering to the drawings Hilda had made. Finally she spotted one mushroom that had the long strands of hair resembling a lions mane. She looked around to find the dwarf, but he had vanished to her dismay. Running back to Hilda she informed her that she had found the needed ingreediants. "Give them to me!" The witch put them in her pointy hat, taking out a small wand of wood with a crystal on top. Waving her wand over the hat, there was a poof of smoke where in place of the ingreediants stood three charactors, each resembling the gathered recipe.

There standing under the stars stood, scarecrow, tinman and lion. They all were looking down at her wooden shoes, saying "Their not the same shoes, their not the same shoes!" "What do you meen their not the same shoes?" Girl exclaimed. Hilda said that it was alright, that they were conjured up from another story. "Story? You meen we are all in a book?" The scarecrow who simpathsized explained, " Its just that we are only needed when a story needs special charactors." His stitched grin was charming. The lion spoke up, " Last time Broom HIlda called us was when she needed help turning carriage rats into horses!" His tail swirling as he spoke. "That was in Cinderella." The tin man said as he oiled himself with a tiny oilcan. "Oh yes Cinderella! Now what do you need us to do?" Lion asked with his paw plucking his whiskers. "Look over there, HIlda pointed with her broomstick, the trees have ran off!" "We've got to find um" Scarecrow said noding his straw head. All five noded back in agreement.

Suddenly the dwarf appeared that went into the cave. "Look there! What do we have here?" Hilda pointed to the tiny figure standing now what was a sunrise on the horizon. More small figures appeared, a swarm of little people, male and female. "Why there dwarfs! Girl said as they surrounded the strange visitors. The tallest one spoke up."Were not dwarfs but elfs, see are ears." HE pointed to his pointy ears. "I guess that makes you elves then" "We work in the emerald mines for the Ogre , but hes not here, just us" One with a gruff voice spoke up. "Well now that your here , maybe you can help us get the trees back" Hilda informed. The group of elves looked back to where the trees had stood on the grassy cliff. " Oh my that is a problem, maybe you can ask the King, he might know how to bring them back." A plump female elf sugessted. "And where do we find this King?" They all began to gosip to themselves until they found a answer. " Hes too far to walk, but we can loan you a majical horse that can take you there." The tallest one replied. One of the elves ran off and reappeared in no time. He was holding the harness and leading a great horse big enough to carry all of them. "Oh my, he has wings too." Girl said as she ran over to pet the creature. "Yes, he truly knows the way to the Kings castle, just hop on." Gruff voice instructed. The witch and girl got on with no problem, lion, tin man and scarecrow kept falling off makeing the elves snicker at their clumsyness. Finally all were aboard the giant steed and off they flew, waving goodbye to the small friends below.

It was a wonderfull flight through the clouds as the winged horse drew closer to a gleeming castle that seemed to float on the clouds. "Look! Lion pointed at the castle towers shining underneath the two suns in the sky. Landing ever so lightly upon the grounds, the group was able to approach the castle door. Lion turned the golden knob , as it was mysteriously unlocked. Creeping together in unison, they entered the fortress finding it carpeted with royal blue colors and marble staircases. It was a airy feeling being in a floating building, round stained glass windows beamed rainbow colors while one could hear the sound of windchimes. While admiring the interior, the King seemed to appear out of thin air. He stood about 15 feet high wearing a crown of glittering gold, a white robe and a gold sash. He had a long flowing beard of white that glittered with tiny stars of space dust. "Hallo children", he beemed down at the visitors.

"Hello Your magisty" They all bowed and said together. "What brings you to to my castle?" "Well you see, our trees have ran off and we need your help bringing them back" Scarecrow shouted. "Trees you say? What makes you think i know about trees?" Suddenly there was a gust of wind where the kings robe blew and revieled a bushy monkey tail that made his image a bit more interesting. Tim man was a llittle frightened and began to oil his joints. "Oh i see you saw my tail! Yes I am part animal and part man" Looking around the group realized he had no servents and was alone. There was a giant orb upon the wall that no one had noticed until it started blaring a alarm. The orb became a looking glass that served the king as a communication device. It flashed on, and there was a image within the glass. A old women that also was part monkey, but a sea monkey surrounded with a moving ocean around her bluegreen atire. "Mother, how good of you to call, it seems i have a favor to ask"

"Yes , my son," her swirling eyes of blue looked so pure, like a sea virgin of a different nature. " You see, my visitors here can not find their trees that have run away." :"Oh I see, well all i can suggest is to take some space dust gathered at moonlite and sprinkle it where they once stood, this will call them back, surely." "Thak you Mother, is there anything you need?" "No deer, its just that I appreaciate the times we can talk, as I will not be around forever." Her watery image began to swirl and blurr, as she faded out. "Yes mother, i know, We"ll talk again soon." The kings eyes were tearing up, as he found a sand bag full of moon dust and gave it to the group. The Bruja examined the bag and stuffed it into her pocket. "I hope it works, good luck" The Tall king said as he ushered the group out to the waiting horse they all rode away on. "Goodbye! they all waved , and thank you!"

The ride back was beautiful as it rained a bit, a rainbow appeared over the castle that got smaller and smaller as they flew through the clouds. When they landed the scarecrow was shaking his head, saying that this was all very scairy, allthough nothing really scairy has happened. The witch took the bag of moon dust and sprinkled it where the trees had been. Then they waited until they could see the big trees running home. They all streached their rootsback in place and exclaimed how good it was to be home. "Well this has paid off very well, soon I will have more shoes to sell" Broom Hilda said as she hoped back on her broom. "what about us? Where will go? Back in the book?" Scarecrow pleaded. " Well you know, the shoes i pedel are majic shoes, so you can go back with the girl if you want. " "Majic shoes?" lion asked. "Just hold hands and the four of you can wish yourselves to anywhere you desire." They all held hands and made a wish, where they went, is uncertain, but I think that through them, dreams can come true. And with that, they witch rode off into the sunset, back to a world beyond the majical realm.