Once upon a time, not too long ago, there was a great forest deep within the rolling

hills of Wisconsin. On and on this forest went, farther than any eye could see. This forest was amazing. It wasnt dark and scary at all. It had the tallest trees whose branches would swing in the wind. The trees would reach out far and wide with their long branches creating a canopy of protection for everything below. Being inside the forest felt like being inside a house as this canopy covered the ground like the sheltering and protective roof on a house. There was just enough space between the leaves to allow for a million shafts of light to pierce their way through the canopy ceiling and illuminate the forest floor with a warm light. This forest home rolled on and on, up and down hills, in and out of valleys. Every so often the trees would empty out leaving an open field of tall grass at the peak of the hill that was just right to run through. Other times the forest would tiptoe up to the edge of a farmers field of corn or barley. At the end of summer the corn would reach so high up trying to touch the clouds that you could almost not tell when you had left the forest and entered the field. Only the high-reaching stocks crowded close together as they mimicked the winds movements and dressed themselves to match the brownish yellow of the late-summer sun. Within this great forest there lived a little girl who was only ten years old. She loved her forest home. Every day she would climb the tall oak trees and climb out onto the branches just far enough that as she sat on the branch she would be swinging in the wind. Other times she would walk along the tops of the big fallen trees playing imaginary make-believe games. Sometimes she would happen upon one of those hill-top open spaces. Leaving the forest as the wind caught her breath, she would chase after it across the field playing a magical game with the wind and the sun. When she ran through the tall grass it would tickle her legs teasing her into falling down in giggles and laughter. she always felt lighter than air. Inside the forest was her home. She felt safe there as the trees protected her and the sun sprinkled light upon her head. She was a silly girl with angel-white hair that danced on her head and around her face. Her cheeks were always rosy and so was her nose. And though she was silly, she also had a big a heart that needed the trees love and safety. As the sun sank behind the next hill over, signaling the end of the day, and as the shining moon replaced the suns bright light with a perfect glowing nightlight, the trees would reach down to her and wrap their warmth around her. This is how she would drift into sleep every night. She was very happy.

This little girl was never afraid of the wild animals because they were her brothers and sisters. She even respected the predators like the bears, wolves, coyotes, and fox. Because she respected them, she knew their patterns and their ways and because of this she knew how to live in peace with them. In this way, the little girl spent all her days frolicking in the warmth and protection of her forest-home. She especially liked to play atop her favorite large fallen oak that, though fallen, had rested at a height taller than she and was ten-times more round than she. But then one day, she heard a strange noise that startled her out of her imaginative play. As she listened she heard the loud, high-pitched cry of an animal she had never heard before. Without hesitating, she dismounted her tree and began to run in the direction she had heard the cry. When she heard it again, this time much closer, she slowed down. With her eyes wide open and her ears perked to listen, she continued to seek this animal that she could only imagine was in need of some kind of help. When the cry came again, she realized the cry belonged to a small child and not an animal at all! Just beyond the small gully, which was painfully filled with pricker-bushes, and just to the north of the lightning struck ancient oak tree, she saw the sad wet face of a crying four yearold little boy named James who lived just over the crest of the hill. Dont worry, she cooed as she squatted to his height and wiped his face dry with her shirt sleeve, Ill help you get back home. Then she flashed him her big electrifying smile as she reached out her hand to him, saying, Come on, James. Lets go home. Taking her hand in his, together they navigated their way through the forest. As they walked, she told him stories of her animal forest friends and of the old ancient Indian Chief whose ghost rode a horse up to the hill-top meadow through the sparse trees that ran along the pine forest border. She told him about how the old oak survived being hit by lighting and about the worm nests that clung tight to the thin drooping branches of the forest bushes and small trees. Soon they were nearing the forests edge and the boys home. They could now see his parents frantic movements and hear their desperate calls as they looked toward the forest with fear in their eyes. Hand-in-hand, the girl and James rushed forward clearing the tree line and unfold into the twilight-lit span of James yard. James ran to his parents grateful and relieved arms as they scooped him up, their fear-filled hearts overflowing with joy. Youre safe! they cried. All these years the neighboring people referred to the little girl as the tree-girl as every time they happened upon her, she was always swinging on the branches of some tree or walking along the top of some fallen tree. But now, they cried, The Tree Rescuer saved our James! Thank God for the Tree Rescuer! Skipping back to her favorite fallen tree, the little girl weightlessly climbed to the top. With her legs bracing her body and her hands upon her hips, she looked out through the forests edge and out onto the valley below as she repeated the words, tree-rescuer. As she spoke the words out loud again and again, she grew louder and louder with each proclamation:

tree rescuer Tree Rescuer Tree-Rescuer! That was it! She had found her destiny: she was the Tree Rescuer. She sang: I am the Tree Rescuer. Im fighting for your life Ill never leave your side Until I know youre okay. Cause Im the Tree Rescuer. From that day on, that little girl was the Tree Rescuer, doing all she could to help those around her who were in need. Once she helped a farmer whose tractor had unexpectedly thrown him to the ground. He laid helpless and hurt in the moist upturned dirt of his field, unable to get back on his tractor and unable to get help. Another time she brought dried firewood out of the forest to help a very poor family who only had a wood stove to heat their home, yet because they worked so hard to afford food for their three young daughters, there was not enough time to collect the firewood themselves. But because they barely made enough money to feed their family and pay all their bills, there was no money left to buy cords of firewood. So, each day the little girl would haul all the dried wood from the forest she could carry and placed it by their door. Each evening when the parents came home from work, they would find a new pile of firewood waiting for them. This pleased the family very much. Every night as the smoke curled out of the chimney, dancing all the way to the moon, the family would snuggle in their beds, warm with the heat from their wood stove as it burned this wood. And this please the little girl immensely.