Once the sun and the earth made a seed. Watered by the rain the seed sprouted two leaves, then a stem and then two branches.
The sun and the earth watched the seed become a little plant.
When one day the plant woke up it looked down and got a terrible fright. Oh no! it thought, I'm so far from the ground! What if I were to fall?
The plant was worried. So worried that it stopped growing altogether. The sun and the earth were worried too, for they watched the plant refuse to grow. So they sent the wind to help and the wind listened to the plant's worries and suggested that perhaps the plant would be better off as a bird. Birds can fly, said the wind, and so there would be no chance of falling over. The plant agreed and was transformed by the wind into a bird.
The bird flew a great distance until it came to a large forest of enormous trees. The bird was amazed. It landed on a branch high in the forest canopy. Oh dear! said the bird aloud to the tree, you must be terrified! The tree responded to the bird in a low and gentle voice.
Dear bird, it said, how old do you think I am?
Maybe three? Said the bird.
And how old do you think trees are?
The bird was confused, what do you mean?
Well, said the tree, I may be three but I am a tree and trees are 300 million years old. For all that time we’ve been learning to stand, and all that we’ve learned is inside each of us. So you see dear bird, my nature is to remain standing.
The bird was inspired, thanked the tree and flew back to its home where the wind was waiting. When the wind asked the bird how things were going the bird replied that things were great, but asked the wind to please transform it into a tree? They’ve been learning to stand for 300 million years!