"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! It is spring! "Liz yelled excitedly.

"Why are you yelling?" Asked Ben.

"I am excited because I cannot wait to go outside to play. It has been a few weeks, and it is finally warm enough to go out. After all, Mom said that when all the snow melted, and it was dry and warm, we could go out to play. Yay! I love exploring after winter!" Liz happily explained.

Liz was thrilled to get out and go exploring. She kept gazing out the window with delight. She quickly ran to her mother's room and jumped on the bed. "Mom, get up! It is finally nice and warm out! Can I please go outside?" She said.

Liz's mom sat in bed and said, "Alright, alright, you can go. Take your brother, and don't wander far from home."

She was so happy that she ran into her bedroom, put on her jacket, and then ran downstairs to put on her shoes.

"Ben, come on. Let's go. Oh! I can't wait; we will have so much fun." Liz said, rushing her brother.

"Okay, okay, I'm coming now. Can we stop and dig for bugs?" Ben said.

"Eww, no way. Bugs are gross, yucky." Liz answered, sticking out her tongue in disgust. "Let's go exploring in the woods."

Ben and Liz loved to play in the woods. Before the snow, that was something they did all the time. Ben even made himself a hideout with trees and sticks. He called it his bunker, and no girls were allowed. He liked to hide from his sister; at other times, he wanted to spend time alone with his bug collection. Liz wanted to skip rocks in the creek and climb the trees.

"Liz, do you want to race? Let's see who can get to the creek first." AskedBen.

"Ready set, go!" She yelled.

They ran through the woods at top speed, with the wind kissing their cheeks. Ben was in the league because Liz stopped to stare at some beautiful butterflies. She loved the pretty colors. She even picked up and smelled some lilies flowing in the wind. Liz was in complete awe. As she started to twirl, she heard a cry from Ben. When she finally caught up to Ben, she noticed that he was crying on the ground.

"What are you doing, Ben? Quit playing around and get up." Liz said.

Ben replied, "I stomped my toe and tripped over this log. My foot hurts badly." He slowly trembled to his feet while holding on to the log.

"Hey! Who are you calling a log?" A voice said.

"Hello! Who said that?" Ben asked.

The kids looked around and saw nothing. Liz scratched her head and then asked, "Is anyone there?"

"Yes, down here. Do you mind not sitting on me? I'm down here on the ground. Can you help me, please?" The voice said.

"I think it's coming from this tree. Ben, get up!" She said.

They were astounded by the tree talking. They didn't know trees could talk. Ben was amazed.

"Mr. Tree, I don't think that we can help you. How did you get on the ground?" Said Ben.

The tree answered, "As you can see, dear children, I am no ordinary tree. My name is Elmer, and I can talk. This part of the woods is enchanted. Everything is alive, just like you."

Ben thought it was terrific and wanted to help Elmer. He and his sister looked around for something to help pull him up. Ben thought using the vines that Elmer was good for raising him. Elmer began to sing a sweet melody. He was happy. Elmer even helped by extending hisbranches to make the process easier. After all the hustle and bustle, the tree was standing. They all rejoiced.

"Hooray! You did it!" Elmer shouted happily.

"You are welcome." Said the kids.

"I need something to prevent me from tipping over again and water," Elmer said.

"I have an idea," Liz said.

They packed mud around his broken roots and tied vines to hold them in place. They watered him. Elmer was very gracious. It was almost dark, and they headed home and promised to visit Elmer the next day. The following day, they returned to see their new friend, Elmer. He was ecstatic to see the kids.

"Hey there, kids. I missed you. I didn't think you would come back and visit. Do you want to play?" Elmer said, waving around his branches.

Liz and Ben were thrilled to play with Elmer. They climbed up his trunk and swung from his branches. The sounds of laughter and joy filled the air. These sounds made the tree very happy.

"I don't ever want this day to end. You're my new best friend, Elmer." Ben said as he hugged Elmer.

"Aww shucks, I think you are pretty neat too, Ben. I want to show you two a new trick I learned. Watch this." Elmer said.

Suddenly, Elmer shrugged from side to side, raising his roots from the ground. As he bent and twisted about, he was free from the ground. "Look, kids, I am all better now. I can move around freely. Let's skip about in the forest and have some fun." Elmer said.

"Wow! Ben, look at that! He can walk. It's amazing. Yes! Let's play, Elmer!" Liz said excitedly.

"Can I hang on your branches?" Asked Ben.

"Sure, let me help you." Said Elmer, lifting Ben.

Liz showed off her skip rock skills. Ben found new bugs to add tohis collection. Elmer was the happiest tree because he made two new friends. They all had enormous fun, and soon, it was time for the kids to return home. "Time for us to head home, Ben. We don't want Mom to worry; let's go." Said Liz. Ben and his sister waved farewell to Elmer and raced home.

Elmer was sad to see his friends leave. He wanted to find a way to be with them or have something to remember them when they weren't around. Elmer was a very lonely tree. The other trees weren't very nice to him because he was different. His leaves weren't as bright and beautiful as theirs. Instead, he grew fruit. Being the only fruit tree in a cluster of Cherry Blossom trees was hard. So, he devised a plan to move closer to the children. The other trees laughed and said he was silly. Some even told him that it would never work.

Ben and Liz couldn't wait to return to the forest to play with Elmer, but it rained for days. Their mom told them they would have to wait for the rain to stop. Liz wanted to see Elmer and wondered how he was doing. She thought adding a swing on his branches and reading to him would be fun. Liz told Ben to cover for her and snuck out. She ran all the way there and saw Elmer was sad.

"Hello, Elmer." She said. "It is me, Liz. I came to see how you're doing. Mom said we couldn't come out because of the rain. I brought you something. It's a swing."

"Hi, Liz. I thought you and Ben had forgotten about me. I'm happy to see you. Sure, you can put a swing on me." Elmer said as he lowered his branches forLiz.

"I brought a book to read to you as well. I will read a few pages and then return home before my mom realizes I'm gone."

"I would like that a lot."

Liz read the first few pages to Elmer and then headed back home. Her mom was standing in the doorway when she entered. Liz explained how she was worried about her friend in the forest and wanted to check on him. Her mother knew how thoughtful she could be and couldn't stay mad. Instead, she told Liz to change and get ready for bed. Liz couldn't sleep. She gazed out her window as the rain hit the glass and wished Elmer was all right. Then she turned out her light and went to bed.

A few days passed, and the rain finally stopped. By then, Elmer had left the forest. He thought his friends had forgotten about him and went to find them. He didn't know he'd be in trouble if he stayed away from the forest. "Oh no! What's happening to me?" Elmer said as he shoved on. It was getting harder to move. Soon, he was not able to move at all. He saw some blue jays flying around his branches and asked them for help. They all flew away except one.

"Hi. Can you help me? I seem to be stuck." Elmer said.

"Sure. How can I help?" Said the blue jay.

"Please send my friends Ben and Liz a message and tell them I need help. They live just beyond the forest, past the creek, " he said.

"I will see what I can do. Say, how did you get stuck here anyway? Aren't you from the magic forest? You're not supposed to leave, or bad things will happen to you." Said the bird.

"Yes, I'm from there. No wonder the othertrees laughed at me when I said I was leaving. Now I am sad and alone."

"Hey there, friend, you're not alone. You got me, and I am going to help you. I'm going to fly around and try to search for your friends." He said as he took off flying.

"Thank you!" Yelled Elmer.

The following day, Liz and Ben grabbed their jackets and saw Elmer. Something wasn't quite right. He wasn't there. Somebody covered the hole with mud and leaves. Where could he have gone? They asked the other trees if they had seen Elmer. They weren't helpful and were mean. So, Ben and Liz decided to call out Elmer's name, and maybe he would hear them yelling. It was beginning to feel hopeless, and they feared they would never find him. They saw a blue jay signaling them to follow him when they were about to give up. Ben and Liz trailed after the bird, hoping it would lead them to Elmer.

"Elmer, there you are. We were worried about you. Why did you leave the forest? The rain stopped, and we were allowed to come outside." Liz said.

"I think something is wrong with him, Liz. He isn't moving. Poor Elmer is a regular tree now." Ben said, hugging Elmer.

"Oh no. I knew something like this would happen. Elmer was away from the magic forest too long." The blue jay said.

"What do you mean?" Liz said as her eyes filled with tears. "Oh, Elmer. You silly tree. Why did you leave?

"Everything in that forest side will stay alive as long as they never leave. It has always been that way. I met Elmer yesterday, and he sent me to find you. We're too late, kids. I'm sorry." The bird explained before flying away.

Liz was saddened more than Ben and wantedto help Elmer. She sat on the swing and began to sing to her tree friend. Ben leaned against his roots. Then he came up with an idea. "Liz, why don't we find a way to bring him home with us and plant him in the ground near our house? He would always be happy to be with us. We can grab some special soil from the forest to help him. What do you say?"

"Yes, let's do it. We can ask Dad to move him with his truck. Come on!" She said.

They went home and asked their dad for help. He agreed, and Elmer was grounded and rooted in their front yard before they knew it. Liz and Ben sang and danced around the tree in delight. Liz and Ben played around with Elmer as the weeks passed, hoping for something to happen. One day, something magical happened. Elmer Was talking again. He still couldn't move, but that was okay. The kids were happy to speak to their tree friend again. Elmer explained why he left the forest. He was lonely and wanted to be with his friends. He said he loved the sun on his branches and was finally able to grow fruit. He was grateful for people who cared about him, and he promised to bear delicious fruit as long as possible.

Elmer was pleased with Ben and Liz because they were true friends. They never gave up on him. He enjoyed many blissful spring and summer days with the children. They always found new ways to have fun. Ben even had a treehouse built so that he could always be with Elmer. Sometimes, he and Liz would have sleepovers and take turns telling stories to Elmer.