Short Story by "A. Christmas Tree"

I pulled this from the archives so that it can be shared again this year. I wrote this last year after we had finally found the tree for our home.

Hello. I am a Douglas Fir. It took me a long time to grow up to be a Christmas tree. Yes, A Christmas tree. I was so happy with my feet planted firmly and I had many friends all around me. Once a year a lot of people came to look at us but I guess we were just too small, so they kept on walking. It seemed they always went to the bigger trees.

It didn't bother me ~ I was happy where I was and I wasn't in a hurry to go anywhere. Sometimes one of my friends down in the valley would be brought by us on a wagon and we often wondered where they were going or what happened to them.

One day, while I stood there enjoying the brisk air and the warmth of the sun on my branches, that wagon stopped right in front of me. They chopped me down, threw me on that wagon, and took me back to some buildings where a lot of people were milling around. They tossed me on the ground and I lay there wondering why. What next? Soon I was yanked up on end and slowly spun around. No one had ever touched me that way and I was so confused, not knowing quite what was happening to me.

They took me to a place where someone cut off my lower branches (ouch!) and then they drilled a nail up through my trunk. That really hurt. And then, the humiliation! They stuck me in a hole, I was pulled through, and I came out all trussed up with string, I couldn't breathe. Next thing I knew I was being carried away and put into the back of a truck. It was dark inside and I stayed in there a long time.

Finally someone took me out of the darkness and into a place that was warm. It felt kinda nice. They released my branches and I felt sooooo good.

Before I knew it things were being put on my branches and when it was all done, I felt very special.

And as I stood there I wondered why anyone would want to call me a 'holiday' tree. Holiday indeed! I AM A CHRISTMAS TREE! Show a little respect for me. Thank you.