The Tree Giants

The Tree Giants

Eva and her family had travelled far looking for the perfect place to make their home. They came across a lush green land full of trees, babbling brooks and colourful meadows of beautiful flowers. It seemed the idyllic place to settle. For the first few days Eva and her family slept under the protective canopy of the trees. Each morning Eva sat and sung a song, her pretty voice carried upwards and danced amongst the leaves.

The family began to build and cut down some of the tallest trees to make their home, and then they laid down hard roads across the soft bare earth. Life was good and their small village began to grow into a town as more and more people moved there and built their houses.

As the seasons changed the spring days turned to summer, and with this came the baking hot sun. Without the trees to provide shade the remaining patches of earth became scorched, the soil was too dry to grow any crops. The people used the water from the brooks to water their fields. By the end of the summer months the brooks had run dry and the fish that had once swam in the crystal waters had swam downstream away from the noise and pollution of the town. The people began to worry that there would not be enough water to wash their cars or fill up their swimming pools.

When autumn came it brought with it the grey rainclouds. The people of the town were pleased at the sight of the falling rain. It rained for ten days, and with every raindrop the earth became more and more saturated with water. Water ran down the barren hills that had once been forests. Soon small streams were flowing down the hill, as the rain continued to fall these streams became larger and larger. The earth that had once been held by the roots of the trees began to slide like a river of mud heading towards the town, and Eva’s family home.

As the river of mud reached the edge of the town Eva heard the thunder of the water and ran to her front door. On seeing the peril that her family were in she began to scream and shout, but no one could hear her calls over the sound of the rain and they stayed fast asleep inside the house.
Refusing to abandon her family to the waters she began to pile the firewood that was stacked by the house against the front door to make a barrier against the water. She sang as she worked, knowing her fate was sealed by the river of mud fast approaching, tears rolled down her face onto the firewood. She placed the last log on the barricade as the water reached her feet, exhausted she collapsed on the pile of wood. As the muddy waters rose around her the pile of wood began to move, creak and groan. The firewood had remembered the girl’s song from the mornings when she had sung to his leaves, her tears had awakened his spirit.

Roots began to sprout out from the sawn edges. Branches sprung out of the grey bark faster than any spring growth. With the power of the girl's tears the tree trunks beneath her began to come alive, their bark covered bodies shot up into the sky. They became giants. One of the Tree Giants bent down and picked up Eva, nestling her safely into his branches. The giants pushed their roots down into the ground like anchors, and began to hold the waters back from the town until it had dispersed.

Their giant figures threw shadows across the landscape as they strode up the hill, grabbing armfuls of muddy earth as they went. They packed the soil down with their roots and gave sanctuary to the weary birds, small animals and insects.
Once they had reached the brow of the hill they pulled themselves up straight and raised their arms to the sky. They demanded the clouds to stop their downpour, their outstretched fingers poked at the bellies of the clouds until they stopped raining.

After that day, whenever it rained the Tree Giants would dig their roots down into the earth, holding the soil firmly in place. They soaked up the water and stopped the small streams turning into raging rivers. In the summer they provided cool shade, and homes between their branches for nature. In autumn they fed the earth with their leaves. The Tree Giants stayed on the hill looking down on the town. Each night as the sun set their silhouettes reminded the people of the town of the great debt they owed the giants. Over time the people tried to repay this debt by planting trees to replace those they had stolen from the earth.

Eva walked up the hill everyday to visit the Tree Giants, singing as she went. She was not sure if they could still hear her song, until one day as she was sat beneath the branches of the Tree Giant that had saved her life she felt something brush her cheek. She looked up to the canopy above her head. The Tree Giant was returning Eva’s tears in the form of delicate white blossoms.
Every spring a beautiful display of blossoms from the Tree Giants reminded Eva of their friendship and the mutual need to protect each other.

Story and illustrations by Ophelia Fu