Once there were a family of willows who moved in near the water with a family of other trees. There were other willows there too, but they were off to themselves. They found a place to take root, but they felt uncomfortable being in a strange place. They all shared the water where they lived, it was their only source of hydration as it had not rained in a good while. They were so hot from the move that they hang their arms in the water to get cooled off. The other trees didn’t know what to think because of what they were seeing. She was lush and green, and the other trees were jealous of her because she was so beautiful. After a while, she turned and saw the other willow and spoke to her. She asked the other willow just how long had she lived where she was living, and the other willow told her that she had lived there all of her life. All of the other trees just looked in disbelief that they were actually talking to one another, but not talking to them. They all wondered if she would ever talk to them, but they kind of thought she wouldn’t because she didn’t look like them. They thought she would only talk to the other willow because they were the same kind of tree.

The birds didn’t know who she was, so, they kept their distance until they saw that she was nice and didn’t mind them taking shelter in her branches. The other trees asked her what her name was, and she told them that her name was Washita. She asked the other willow what her name was, and she told Washita that her name was Lilac. All of the others saw that she was quite shy in the beginning, but they all got along just fine. The bushes that surrounded them whispered about how long her branches were. The flowers just admired her beauty and was very glad that she had moved there. Now that Lilac had someone there who looked just like her, she didn’t feel like she stuck out among the rest of the trees. When night fell, they would whisper and talk about how much they enjoyed being there surrounded by the water and everyone else who was there with them. They all looked out for each other; they were one big happy family.

One day when it was cool, and the sun wasn’t so hot, they heard some walking in the brush behind them. They were wondering who or what it could be because no one ever visited there. Because the other trees were bigger and stronger, they told them not to worry that they would take care of everything. They uprooted themselves and began to walk around to see what it was, or who it was back in the brush. Low and behold, it was a lost little rabbit. She was looking for her way home. Somehow, she got lost from her mother while playing around. The two elder trees told the rabbit that they would help her find her mother. She was so happy that she began to hop up and down. As they made their way through the brush, they found her mother. The two elder trees asked the rabbit if this was her mother, and she told them yes. They asked the rabbit her name, and she told them that her daughter’s name was Mia, and that her name was Dila. They were so happy that they were together again. The two elder trees told them to be careful in the brush because it could be snakes that could harm them. They went on their way home. The two elder trees walked back to stream where they lived and re-rooted themselves where they were. They were so glad they were back home. Everyone was glad to see that they made it back safely. They told everyone the whole story about what went on in the brush; they all were happy to know that everything turned out alright. Later on, that evening, the willows began to whisper about the events of the day. They talked about how brave the two elder trees were for going to see what was going on. The birds sang their melodies to close the beautiful day. Everyone was happy. The flowers closed their petals, the wind began to blow softly, and the sun set behind the horizon. The stars came out, the moon was shining, and the night critters came out as they normally did. Everything was in harmony. It was a peaceful night.