The Pine Tree .... part Five

The Pine Tree by Hans Christian Andersen
a story in Five parts ..... part Five

V. OUT OF DOORS AGAIN
"Now life begins again," thought the Tree. He felt the fresh air, the first sunbeam,—and now he was out in the courtyard. All passed so quickly that the Tree quite forgot to look to himself, there was so much going on around him. The court adjoined a garden, and all was in flower; the roses hung over the fence, so fresh and smelling so sweetly; the lindens were in blossom, the Swallows flew by, and said, "Quirre-virre-vit! my husband is come!" But it was not the Pine Tree that they meant.

"Now, I shall really live," said he with joy, and spread out his branches; dear! dear! they were all dry and yellow. It was in a corner among weeds and nettles that he lay. The golden star of tinsel was still on top of the Tree, and shone in the bright sunshine.

In the courtyard a few of the merry children were playing who had danced at Christmas round the Tree, and were so glad at the sight of him. One of the littlest ran and tore off the golden star.

"See what is still on the ugly old Christmas Tree!" said he, and he trampled on the branches, so that they cracked under his feet.

And the Tree saw all the beauty of the flowers, and the freshness in the garden; he saw himself, and he wished he had stayed in his dark corner in the attic: he thought of his fresh youth in the wood, of the merry Christmas Eve, and of the little Mice who had heard so gladly the story of Klumpy-Dumpy.

"Gone! gone!" said the poor Tree. "Had I but been happy when I could be. Gone! gone!"

And the gardener's boy came and chopped the Tree into small pieces; there was a whole heap lying there. The wood flamed up finely under the large brewing kettle, and it sighed so deeply! Each sigh was like a little shot. So the children ran to where it lay and sat down before the fire, and peeped in at the blaze, and shouted "Piff! paff!"

 But at every snap there was a deep sigh. The Tree was thinking of summer days in the wood, and of winter nights when the stars shone; it was thinking of Christmas Eve and Klumpy-Dumpy, the only fairy tale it had heard and knew how to tell,—and so the Tree burned out.

The boys played about in the court, and the youngest wore the gold star on his breast which the Tree had worn on the happiest evening of his life.

Now, that was gone, the Tree was gone, and gone too was the story.

All, all was gone, and that's the way with all stories.

 ******************the end**************************
Okay, I know it's not your usual happy ending but as the story says that's the way of stories and that is also the way of Christmas trees. They bring us joy and then they are gone but we have the memories and the story.
And we have more trees to make, so let's get to it!

I love this little tree ornament! It's quick and simple. Even little ones can do it and it works on fine motor skills (also in size comparison). The directions for this Scrap Ribbon Ornament can be found at Fireflies and Mud Pies .com

This tree is definitely different. It's an alternative Christmas tree. Basically, someone took a small limb with lots of branches; hung it upside down; and decorated it. I love it! There are so many possibilities BUT there are no directions. Sorry, just a pic.  I can think of lots of fun things to do with it. Paint the branches, make your own ornaments and garland, maybe a very small string of lights (battery powered) ...... the possibilities are endless!

Keeping with our stick theme, this next tree ornament uses craft sticks and is super simple to make. The Craft Stick Tree Ornament was found at Hands On As We Grow .com and has a great tutorial with lots of pics. Lovin' the use of the squeeze pouch cap for a star!

Ooops, almost forg0t our edible tree! This delicious looking Waffle Tree was found at Rutherford Family Happenings .blogspot .com Just add some green food coloring to your waffle batter then use fruit for your ornaments and a strip of bacon for the tree trunk.