The Hollow Tree

There wasn’t much left of the woods out there

By the time that they built the town,

Only a dozen square miles or so

For the rest had been cut down,

They’d fenced it off for a sanctuary

For animals large and small,

So nobody knew the hollow tree,

They hadn’t been there at all.

 

But I would go, and I’d climb the fence

When nobody was around,

And run right into the undergrowth

To feel my feet on the ground,

I’d disappear within the trees

Just yards from the boundary fence,

The leaves were thick on the path I’d pick

Where the trees were not so dense.

 

The woods were a magical fairyland

Where the sun speckled through the leaves,

It painted patterns of light and sound

When the treetops waved in the breeze,

And rabbits scurried across my path

As birds would twitter above,

Warning the deer of an ancient fear

That man never showed them love.

 

But I was sped on the wings of life

Away from the brooding eaves,

Away from the factories of strife

On a carpet of Autumn leaves,

I must have travelled a mile and a half

When I lifted my eyes to see,

The central bole of a Red Gum hole,

In the heart of an ancient tree.

 

It must have been twenty feet across

And more than a hundred round,

It ruled the place in a state of grace

Stood proudly on hallowed ground,

I caught my breath at its majesty

And approached the tree in awe,

Then slowly entered the hollow trunk

Through an archway, set like a door.

 

My eyes grew used to the gloom in there

When a voice said, ‘Don’t you knock?’

And there was a girl in the corner sat

In a plain and simple frock.

Her hair was fair and was tied right back

And her cheek was pale to see,

Her needle poised on a piece of quilt

With some strange embroidery.

 

I stood and stared in a state of shock,

Unable to breathe a word,

For standing guard on her shoulder was

A black and stately bird,

It cocked its head and it looked at me

With a bright, unblinking eye,

‘Are you the one who will set me free?’

She asked, in a drawn out sigh.

 

The bird had opened its beak just then

And let out an evil caw,

It sat there in a threatening stance

As I backed away to the door.

‘How do I set you free,’ I said

‘I didn’t know you were here!’

‘I’ve been enslaved in this awful cave

For the best part of a year.’

 

‘I have to finish the magic quilt

And there’s just one thread to go,

They sentenced me for my sense of guilt

And the sapphire ring I stole.

I threw the ring in the crystal stream

That babbles over the ground,

The bird is waiting the ring’s return

And won’t leave ‘til it’s found.’

 

The stream was merely a chain away

With a shallow, rocky bed.

I went there, skimming the surface where

It lay, the girl had said,

I saw a glitter among the stones

Reached down, and plucked the ring,

Then made my way to the hollow tree

Where I heard her, muttering.

 

The bird flew off from her shoulder, and

It snatched the ring from me,

Gripped it tight in its blue-black beak

And it flew from tree to tree.

I turned my eyes to the place she’d been

But the walls and the floor were bare,

There wasn’t a sign of the magic quilt

And the girl, she wasn’t there.

 

The woods are a magical fairyland

Where the sun speckles through the leaves,

And paints its patterns of light and sound

When the treetops wave in the breeze,

Where nature casts a spell on the mind

Of the one who dares, like me,

To scale the fence, and seek to find

The bole of the hollow tree.

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[BlackRose]

Such a beautiful place of magical adventure you paint so well here. I really enjoyed reading it.

I used to as a kid play in the woods and do all kinds of things like make a fort, run though it, go on trails that were already there, etc. exploring and having a fun time doing it all. Sometimes I miss though, but do sometimes with my kids walk the trails. Ah, the memories... :o)

[A Soap Mess Stories]

A magical tale. Great story.

[Tomás Ó C..]

Rolicking tale, well told as usual!

[Avinash]

The spell cast by woods and the sense of belonging always has magical charm. They have inspired somany stories which man made concrete jungle never can

[Lyn Anderson]

What a clever write. Reads a lot like the poem of a writer in a Stephen King novel.

[Claire in VA]

This is a perfect example of what I like.
This took me back to a children's novel that
my first grade teacher read to my class.
Attracting and magical.
Superb.
Claire

[Thomas Fitzgerald]

Poignant and highly detailed a fresh piece that relates well and tells the story plainly, well done, good read.

[Leigh]

You have brought that magical feeling of nature alive with your words, I can imagine the sunlight through leaves, a great descriptive poem within your strong story style.

[Lena M. P.]

What a beautiful, magically piece. I was spellbound. I'm afraid this is where society is heading; but parks cordoned off from the world to preserve a few species. I used to run and play in the woods as a child. It was paradise to me. So much to explore, treasures to uncover, and imaginative friends to play with. Weeds that were flowers and fairies lands where mushrooms grew. You brought all that back for me in your wonderful tale.

[Marie]

This truly does sound like a magical fairyland. Rather a coincidence--a few nights ago I was watching a TV show aobut a crow who seemed to be an evil omen (it want', really), and then yesterday I was reading something about Poe.