Dark Matter | JJK

11. It's a Sin to Kill a Mockingbird

"A long, long time ago, in a land surrounded by water on three sides, there was a rich king. He lived in a huge palace made of gold and ruled the peninsula. Everyone was happy and prosperous in his empire. Every morning, the local men and womenfolk would look up at the beautiful palace on the hill before they left for work, and feel blessed to be living in such a wonderful kingdom.

One day, however, a worker in the palace told the king that one of the pillars that held up the palace roof needed to be replaced. It was old and weak and could come falling down any moment. So the king sent his empire's best woodcutters to the forest, asking them to cut down the strongest tree and use its wood to replace the old pillar.

The forest was full of many healthy green trees. But the woodcutters found the strongest tree to be the one standing right in the middle of the forest. It was tall and strong, its wood a dark, rich brown. That night, however, when the woodcutters were gone and the whole town was asleep, the other trees in the forest heard the strongest tree crying.

'What's wrong?' one of the trees asked. 'Why are you crying?'

The strong tree began crying even louder. 'They will cut me down tomorrow,' he wailed. 'I don't want to leave this forest. I don't want to leave my friends. I don't want to live alone in that palace. What do I do? I feel so helpless.'

The older, weaker trees tried to comfort the young, strong tree. 'Each one of us will be cut down by the axe one day. That is what the cruel humans do. They destroy our family just so they can shelter theirs.'

The strong tree was not one to listen. It cried harder. 'No...I don't want to leave. Please, somebody save me. Somebody save me. Please!'

The next morning, when the woodcutters entered the forest carrying their sharpened, silver axes, the other trees silently watched, knowing it was time to say goodbye to their friend. But when the woodcutters felt the bark of the tree with their hands, they were shocked. Just yesterday they had checked the same tree, and its bark had been strong and hard. But today, the bark had turned soft and old. It would never be able to support the huge roof of the palace. So they returned empty-handed to the palace, apologizing to the king.

That night, when the town was asleep and everything was quiet, the other trees in the forest whispered to the strong tree, 'What happened? Why didn't they cut you down?'

The strong tree smiled at the others as thousands of small chameleons ran down its tall bark. These creatures had covered the tree when the woodcutters had arrived, and the softness of their camouflaged bodies made the men think that the tree was old and weak when on the inside, it was still hard and strong.

'Thank you,' the strong tree smiled down at the blinking white eyes of the chameleons. 'Thank you for saving me.'"

When Petra shut the book titled Papa Tell Me a Story and put it aside, she was greeted by several innocent round eyes staring back at her.

"So the moral of the story, lovely children," she said, reaching out to a little girl who was sucking unknowingly on her thumb and gently detaching her finger from her mouth, "is that sometimes, even strong people need saving. Say it with me."

The group of kindergarteners sitting on the round table of the town's library repeated the words after her in a sing-song voice. They raised their tiny hands and began clapping excitedly, grinning with their small front teeth.

"Shh," Petra said, bringing an index finger to her lips and looking around at the kids. They imitated her gesture. "We're in a library, remember? And what should we always be when in a library?"