The world has seen the likes of many great men. Sam was not one of them. Sam was neither great nor was she a man. Well, technically she wasn’t a “she” either.
Sam was a tree.
You see, Sam was a kind tree. The kindest, if you asked her. She let Nymphs nuzzle on her soft, red, velvety bark. She allowed Centaurs to graze upon her delicious huckleberries that bloomed from her leaves in the winter. She even allowed the Ogres to sleep by her trunk. No tree in the forest let the Ogres so close to their precious sap. But Sam did. Because Sam was a kind tree.
But, remember, she wasn’t a great tree. Great trees grew tall and spread wide. Great trees protected little critters from the many suns. Great trees sheltered Fairies from the violent winds.
Sam couldn’t be a great tree. Sure, she was nuzzled by Nymphs and grazed by Centaurs. Sure, even the Ogres were thankful for her shade while the other trees denied them. But that didn’t make Sam great. That made her kind. A great tree could be nuzzled by hundreds, grazed by thousands, and have enough Ogres underneath their canopy to fill a lake. All trees were that large. But Sam was not.
Sam was a pebble surrounded by mountains. Those mountains grew tall with trunks the width of cities and leaves the length of elephants. But Sam? She was different. Sure, she could fit a Nymph or two. A Centaur or four. Maybe a pair of Ogres. But her trunk? It was the size of a pond. Her leaves? Barely the size of a head.
If it weren’t for her parents whose trunks stood miles beside her and canopies completely covered her, she would be dead. But her lovely parents kept the area where she stood lit by sun. An endless forest of darkness, but she was the light.
So, no, Sam was not great. She could never be great.
But then, Billy arrived.
Sam had heard of these “humans” before. She thought it to be rumor, but no. There he was. Billy.
She knew it was his name because of her magical connection to the world. Or, maybe it was the fact that the kid said, “Hi, my name’s Billy,” when he arrived. Regardless, she was aghast to see one of these humans in real life.
Billy had the beauty of a Nymph, the dexterity of a Centaur, and the rotten stench of an Ogre. Though, she didn’t mention that to Billy.
“What’s your name?” Billy asked.
Sam shook her leaves in response, a sign of caution. Sam would not be swayed by this majestic human. She had heard all the rumors. Including the ones of these humans burning the land, torching her kin, and…worst of all…stealing their precious sap.
“It’s okay,” Billy said. “I don’t bite.”
A trickster, he was. That must be it. After all, Sam was small and not so great. That’s why the human must’ve come to her.
Sam caused her roots to ripple, knocking the little boy onto his back. Billy giggled.
Curses.
“Hah! That was fun!” Billy stood up and brushed the dirt off of his little, blue jeans. “Again, again!”
Curses. Billy taunted her majestic-ness. She needed to show him her true power.
Sam shook her branches, causing several of her leaves to fall onto Billy. Including her special leaves.
Billy, of course, pranced around the leaves as if they were harmless snowflakes.
How did that fail? Sam thought. When her special leaves fell to the ground, an awful aroma plagued the forest for miles. No Nymph or Centaur, Ogre or Fairy could survive such a stench. But Billy. He thrived in it.
Billy nudged up to her trunk and hugged her. Sam reverberated the ground in response.
“Oooo! Ahhhh.” Billy smiled.
Billy even survived her greatest defense. It was useless. No wonder the humans were able to terrorize her kin. Sam was hopeless. Defeated.
She surrendered.
“Mr. Billy,” Sam spoke. “Please don’t take my sap. I’m a kind tree, I swear it.”
Billy, still hugging her, looked baffled. “Miss tree, I don’t want your sap.”
“You don’t’?”
“No, silly!”
“Then…why have you come?”
Billy sat down onto the grass. He looked up, with a twinkle in his eyes. “Well, for a magical forest this sure hasn’t been all too fun.” He twirled around in the grass as he spoke. “The trees are so large, the branches so high and mighty. There’s nowhere to play!” Billy looked down and frowned, but quickly looked back up with a grin. “But that was until I found you! You’re awesome!”
A few of Sam’s leaves dropped uncontrollably. Her trunk shuddered. “You think I’m Awesome?”
Billy started climbing Sam, using all of her branches. All of her perfect branches, perfectly within reach.
“Yah,” Billy giggled as he finally made it to the top. He rested on a nook between branches. “I think you’re great!”
This story was a writing exercise based on the following prompt: Your character has to walk into a magical forest
