Peter and the Tree Children. Peter Wohlleben
To the little ones who love the tree children
— P.W.
To all those giving nature the care
and respect it deserves
— C.A.
PETER WOHLLEBEN
ILLUSTRATED BY CALE ATKINSON
TRANSLATED BY JANE BILLINGHURST
GREYSTONE BOOKS
VANCOUVER / BERKELEY
Peter and the
Tree Children
A NOTE FOR YOU
BEFORE WE STEP INTO THE FOREST
I live in a forest in Germany, where I often tell stories to children about the
animals and the trees.
Piet the squirrel is a real squirrel. Every day he scampers about in the tops
of the trees growing around my forest lodge or in the meadow nearby. In
winter, I put food out for him under an old pine tree, and in summer he
plays with the other squirrels in the treetops.
The ancient beech trees with their children aren’t far away, either. Behind
my lodge, there is a preserve where the beeches can grow undisturbed. In
this protected spot, no one is allowed to cut down any trees and it is always
beautifully shady and cool.
I needed a special story for this book and I immediately thought of Piet. In
this story, Piet is curious about families, since he doesn’t have one of his
own. He can’t believe that even trees have families. He asks me to show him,
and so we set out on our search for the tree children.
Are you ready to make the journey with Piet to find the tree children? Yes?
Then I will begin the story.
We are lucky that Cale has painted absolutely wonderful pictures so you can
see all the places we’re going to visit. I hope you enjoy our adventure!
Every morning before Peter the forester went
out into the woods, he sat on the bench in front of his house.
He sipped his coffee, listened to the birds sing, and watched
the sun rise over the forest. One day, a squirrel scampered up
and sat down next to him as though they were old friends.
Its black eyes were brimming with tears.
“What’s the matter?” asked Peter.
He wasn’t expecting a reply but,to his surprise, the squirrel
said, “I’m all alone. I don’t have any family.”
Peter looked carefully at the squirrel. “That’s hard,”
he said gently. “My children no longer live in the
forest with me, but I still have the trees. Did you know
they have families, too?”
“Really?” asked the squirrel.
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