Week 1 Storytelling: First Interactions Cause Lasting Impressions

"Hush-a-bye, baby, on the tree top;

When the wind blows, the cradle will rock; 

When the bough bends, the cradle will fall;

Down will come baby, bough, cradle, and all." 

(Traditional nursery rhyme)

- - - 

Once upon a time, there was a great oak tree.

This oak was special, because it was the only oak tree in this grassy hide-away spot in a field. No other trees grew in this special place, except this one lone oak tree, which no one ever understood.

The years went on, winter, summer, spring, and autumn. And this tree grew and grew and grew, till it was 50 feet tall.

Example of what the lone tree could have looked like in a field. Source: Trevor Littlewood on Geograph

Throughout the years, the tree had many visitors come and stay, a squirrel or two, a family of birds, and even, sometimes, if the tree was really lucky, humans would come, stay, and play in, on, and around the tree. However, like most things, all of the tree’s visitors would always leave, leaving the tree very lonely in the field.

The tree would wish and pray and hope for visitors, but they would never come. The tree was all alone for what seemed like ages.

But one day, it all changed.

One day, when the tree was just beginning to feel the loneliness set in, she saw a shadow going across the plush, green grass of the field around her. She looked all around and finally she saw a stork flying through the air. The tree looked even closer and noticed that the stork was carrying something in its mouth.

“What could it be?” thought the tree. “Surely that stork couldn't be carrying that big of a mouthful of food to eat!”

Just as the tree began this thought, the stork dropped his package right into her branches, just like a feather.

The tree looked, and to her surprise it was a baby boy! Boy, oh boy did this make the tree happy. The tree was so happy that her leaves lit up so brightly and she danced and sang to her new visitor.

- - -

The tree loved this baby so much that she broke off some of her own branches and made him a cradle to sleep in.

One night the wind was blowing and rustling through the tree, causing the cradle to rock back and forth. The baby boy began to cry in fear. However, the tree knew just what to sing to the baby to calm him down during the storm:

“Hush-a-bye, baby, on the tree top;

When the wind blows, the cradle will rock; 

When the bough bends, the cradle will fall;

Down will come baby, bough, cradle, and all.” 

And soon the baby was calm. The tree sang this every time the baby would cry in fear to calm his nerves.

- - - 

Over the next few months, the tree grew a very strong bond to the baby boy. She had nurtured this baby just like her own.

On the morning of the first day of the third month, the tree heard a couple walking through the woods. They got closer and closer, and soon the couple had found the tree and sat in her shade for a long while. The tree tried not to listen in to their conversation, but she just couldn't help herself. She heard the couple talking about having a baby, but they just couldn't make that happen. The tree was so saddened by this and knew that this couple deserved a baby. 

Example of the couple talking under the shade of the tree. Source: MFer Photography on Flicker

So the tree made the hardest decision, and decided to give the baby boy to the couple.

The couple was so overjoyed with this gift that they told the tree they would make sure the baby boy would come back to visit her when he was older. This made the tree so happy.

Also, the couple decided to give a gift in return to the tree: a name.

They named her: The Giving Tree.


End of (this part of the) Story.

Author’s Note: From the original nursery rhyme, it could be seen as a lullaby to a child who is being loud or fussing at something. The baby lives in a cradle in the tree top, where nature and the weather effect the cradle by rocking it, which could cause it to break causing the baby, cradle, and all to fall down the tree. While reading this lullaby, all I could think about was the tree and its place in this story. While thinking about the tree, I began to think of another story where a tree nurtures a little boy throughout his lifetime. This story would have to be: The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. Throughout this story, the tree cares for this boy. The boy started out playing with the tree, but soon he started not coming back for years. When he would come back though he always wanted something and the tree would give it to him, including her fruit, branches, and trunk. The boy continued to do this until he was an elderly man and all the tree had left was her stump, which is just what the boy needed so he sat with the tree once again. For my story, I decided I would combine these two stories in a unique way. My story takes place at the very beginning of the boy’s life where his and the tree’s connection to one another begins. It shows who actually is the “singer” of the lullaby to the baby, but also who the tree and boy are in Shel Silverstein’s book. My title is inspired by a common phrase people may use, but I think fits this story in particular and special way because of the relationship that is formed and built upon between the tree and boy.

Bibliography. This story is based on the nursery rhyme "Hush-a-bye, Baby" in The Nursery Rhyme Book, edited by Andrew Lang (1897).