Maple

Maple

by Lori Nichols

Maple loved her name.

When she was still a whisper,

her parents planted a tiny tree

in her honor!

And even though

Flavia,

Millie Jane,

Lena,

Lily,

and Constance

were all good names...

Maple was the perfect fit.

And as Maple grew...

so did her tree.

Sometimes, 

when Maple was noisy

(which was a lot),

her parents sent her outside to play.

Her tree didn't mind if she was loud.

Maple would sing to her tree...

and sway for her tree...

and sometimes even pretend 

to be a tree!

On some days,

when the wind was just right,

Maple would simply lie 

under her tree,

and its leaves would dance

just for her.

Then one day,

Maple noticed her tree was bare.

Maple was worried her tree 

might get cold.

So Maple took off her jacket...

and gave it to the tree 

to stay warm.

Sometimes Maple wished 

she had someone else to play with.

(The tree wasn't very good

at throwing snowballs.)

She wondered if the tree

felt the same way.

So Maple introduced her tree

to a friend.

That friendship didn't last.

But Maple and her tree

still had each other.

Through winter... and spring!

Then one day, something 

surprising happened.

Then something 

really surprising happened.

Maple became a big sister.

Maple tried to be a good big sister.

If the baby was cold,

Maple gave the baby

her hat and gloves.

If the baby was lonely,

Maple would share her special friends.

But Maple couldn't always

make the baby happy.

And when the baby was noisy

(which was a lot),

Maple would take her outside to play.

And something magical happened.

Maple's tree danced for them both...

and there was just enough room 

under the tree

for Maple and her little sister...

Willow.