The Wonderful Wood

The Tree of Prophecies

"Well, it does that sometimes. It loves to leave you hanging," said the Emadow Maiden as the clock struck eleven in the night. "You better go and catch some sleep. We can go to the tree of prophecies tomorrow to see if the celestial candle was right."

The Meadow Maiden showed Drizzlemister, Diana and Ethan to three separate rooms. "I have a lot of rooms because I have a large family that loves to come on surprise visits. So, I keep rooms up and ready to deal with them."

"That's very nice of you," said Drizzlemister, and they went into their separate rooms. Ethen felt tired and fell asleep immediately.

The next day they went out early in the morning. They walked towards an open field strewn with crocuses and anemones. In the middle of the field stood a tree. It was a tree, unlike any other tree that Ethan had seen.

"The leaves of the tree glitter like a thousand dragonfly wings in blue, green, purple, pink, and silver like something out of a dream," thought Ethan as he gazed at it.

"This, my friends, is the tree of prophecies. A rare specimen," said the Meadow Maiden as they came closer to the tree that sparkled under the sunlight like a dewdrop.

They finally came under it. It had leaves shaped like, Ethan thought, willow leaves. The leaves dazzled in the sunlight.

"Now, close your eyes," said the Meadow Maiden, turning to Ethan.

"Now open, your eyes," said the Meadow Maiden. Ethan opened his eyes, and the leaf started to glow brighter than anything he had seen. It grew so bright that Ethan had to look away to stop his eyes from hurting.

Then when he looked again, the glow was beginning to fade. The leave was gradually like the rest, but there was tiny writing in gold on its surface. Ethan stared, trying to read. The letters were so small that he couldn't make out anything. But when Ethan looked closely and thought that the letters didn't look like anything he had seen. He kept staring at the leaf.

"It's doubtful that you can read that, Ethan," said Drizzlemister as he stretched out his hand to take the leaf and said, "May I have it?"

Ethan gave it to Drizzlemister. He looked at it and said that the letters were unlike anything he had seen before.

"Well, I know someone who might help us decipher it!" said the Meadow Maiden as Drizzlemister handed the leaf to Diana, who also squinted at it and said, "I can't read this either. the script is unlike anything I've ever seen."

"Let's go there then," said Diana. I'm eager to know what this says. Perhaps it will help us stop that dragon," said Diana as they walked away from the tree. She gave the leaf back to Drizzlemister, who carefully put the glittering leaf into his cloak pocket.

"Well, where is this woman?" asked Drizzlemister as they returned to the Meadowmaiden's house.

"I will take her to you," she said as she took them out of the door from which they had entered hee house and down, further into a dark passage light with torches. On they went in silence, passing few doors and taking a turn left, a turn right, two turns left and two turns right until Ethan felt dizzy.

Finally, the Meadow Maiden came to a door and said, "this is it.'' Then she knocked on the door.

Then she knocked on the door. An old woman opened it and smiled and said, "Why if it isn't for Miss Lenora! What a pleasant surprise! How can I help you, dear?"

"We came to ask you to decipher a prophecy. It is of utmost importance."

"Why come in, come in. Take a seat, everyone. I will try my best to help you out," the silver-haired woman said, standing aside so that Ethan, Drizzlemister, Diana and the Meadow Maiden could enter.

It was a cosy little place. Much smaller than the Meadow Maiden's but kept neat and tidy. Everything seemed to be in its proper place. The polished tabled and chairs gleamed in the dim candlelight. They all sat down, and the woman went in and came with four cups of fresh milk. "It's fresh milk from my cow, Holly," she said and added, "I milked her myself. There is nothing as refreshing as a glass of fresh milk on a sunny day."

"I agree," said Diana as they sipped the cool milk. They all felt refreshed.

"Now for the prophecy you want me to decipher. May I see it?" asked the hunched woman. Drizzlemister took it out of his pocket and gave it to her. She took it out and looked at it, and gasped. "This is very unusual. I've never seen something like this before. Not in all my hundred and one years did I come across something as fascinating as this.''

"Follow me," said the woman and everyone stood up and followed the woman into one room with a low ceiling. Rack of books, scrolls and parchment filled the room. The room smelled dank and musty.

The woman pointed at some chairs. They all sat down while she went to a desk and put the leaf by a lantern on the table. Then she got out a strange glass that looked like a magnifying glass and looked at the leaf. She gazed at it for a while.

"Well, I'm afraid I can't read this!" This prophecy is in the most ancient of tongues. The tongue of the celestials. It only happens if the prophecy belongs to someone with celestial blood.' May I ask who this prophecy belongs to?"

"It belongs to Ethan. But it is strange. He is not from here—he from the otherworld," said Diana, and they all looked at Ethan. Ethan felt like he had when he had uttered the wrong line in his school play last summer. He wished that everyone looked away.

"Well, I'm sure there must be some mistake!" he said as they all looked away.

 "The tree of prophecies has never made e a mistake, not once!" said the woman putting away her glass.