Stories About Trees - Part III

This is the third edition of a series of stories. This was written BY A COLLEAGUE (E.G., NOT ME!).

Tasty Toddlers - written by LN

This story takes place in one of those quaint little towns where everyone knows each other's names. People went about their business, exchanging smiles as they passed on the street. Laughter echoed from the school bus as gleeful children where sent home for the day. But behind this innocent illusion lurked something dark and evil, waiting to break free.

In the center of the small schoolyard stood an enormous maple tree. For as long as any of the kids could remember, the maple tree had been a centerpiece of their playground, withstanding storms with supernatural tenacity. Every recess, the children would run outside to play games and have fun, but by the time they began to run inside, no one noticed the tree looked a little different.

Now, were there 25 students in the class, or was it 23? Did Sally move away, or did she not move fast enough? Either, missing kindergarteners did not make your school very popular. There was no denying something was amiss.

That's what was on Ms. Tracy's mind as she walked the children down to the playground, where a group of maple trees stood. Today the kids would learn how to tap sap from a tree, and would later make maple syrup out of it. As they approached the trees and began tapping them, Tony suggested they tap the great maple tree in the center of the yard.

As the kindergarteners looked up at the tree, a chill was sent up their spine for no reason they could think of on such a warm, sunny day. Ms. Tracy drew near the tree, the children close behind her. They took turns hammering the pipe in the maple, expecting thick sap to emerge at any moment. It seemed like it took forever for something to come out of that pipe. When it did, it sure as heck wasn't sap.

Slowly, dripping out of the pipe was an orange substance the same smell and appearance as a mix of Elmer's glue, Kool-Aid and Silly Putty. Dumbstruck and somewhat confused, Ms. Tracy gathered the children inside and called the police. Unfortunately, Ms. Tracy was so preoccupied she failed to notice there were now only 20 students in the class.

The police suspected the tree had had something to do with the missing children. The substance that came out of the tree was made up with things commonly found in the hands and mouths of kindergarteners, and seemed to have some connection, though no one could seem to fathom quite how. Either way, the tree was causing anxiety and distress among the parents and teachers, and it was scheduled to be cut down, but then the enviromentalists stepped in.

They said the tree was unlike any they had ever seen before, and though it appeared to be just an old maple, it had qualities not found in any botany books. And though the naturalists were thrilled to find such an interesting tree, the kindergarteners of the area continued to disappear, and the parents were becoming increasingly unhappy that nothing was being done.

Then, under close observation, the tree's true disposition became more obvious. The branches would sway when there was no wind. Growling noises came from the trunk in the night, and missing children's shoes were found in the branches. Something had to be done, and despite the protests of angry enviromentalists, the tree was going down.

The next morning, the man who was selected to cut down the maple made his way to the schoolyard, axe in hand. He couldn't wait to put an end to the whole mess, and he strongly believed that by killing the tree, he was doing so. He arrived at the school, and opened the wooden gate, but when his eyes fell upon the schoolyard, he stopped dead in his tracks. The old maple was gone, as if it had vanished into thin air.

In a midwest community, in a small churchyard surrounded by a moss-covered stone wall, stood an old tree. For as long as any of the town elders could remember, that maple had been a center of the churchyard. No one had suspected that it had any connection with the elderly people that had been disappearing regularly.

- Written by LN -