The Inside Press

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Susan Stern Kravet

 

One fall day in Bedford, a brisk cool breeze

Send a spruce cone tumbling from some tall green trees.

 

Its little seeds landed and sprouted some shoots,

And soon little baby trees began to grow roots.

 

Those delicate saplings were protected from harm,

Because they planted themselves on a Christmas Tree Farm!

 

On Winkler’s Farm they grew, with lots of sun and rain,

Except for one tiny tree that was really rather plain.

 

Little Sprucie stayed small while the others trees spread.

As they grew tall and fluffy he was spindly instead.

 

As the others laughed at him and covered him in shade,

He felt ashamed and sad, and a little bit afraid.

 

The seasons changed and the other trees continued to grow.

Each December families came with squealing children in tow.

 

Wearing mittens and hats with their cheeks flushed red and bright,

They searched the fields to find a tree that seemed just right.

 

Finally one year Sprucie thought, “I can be a Christmas Tree!”

And as children rushed by he waved his needles to say, “PICK ME!”

 

As they ran to bigger trees with their faces half frozen,

He wondered why it was that he was never chosen.

 

Years went by and the littlest spruce slowly grew high,

And Winkler’s farm was changing too as time passed by.

 

One summer Sprucie saw a sight that he feared.

Tractors and bulldozers and backhoes appeared!

 

Trees were knocked down with a loud crash landing,

But Sprucie was lucky and was left still standing.

 

Soon right where Winkler’s Farm once proudly stood,

Builders put up lots of houses and a real neighborhood.

 

Sprucie was next to a big house all painted white,

And a bright yellow moving van appeared to his delight.

 

He was happy that he would no longer be alone,

And finally have a family they he could call his own.

 

Chris and Joy Holliday had a girl and two boys,

And they enjoyed climbing Sprucie and making lots of noise.

 

As Hope, Nick and Noel got older they had less time to play,

And like the trees on the farm they grew up and went away.

 

Sprucie turned 60 years old and stood 70 feet tall,

At 35 feet wide the Holliday’s feared he would fall.

 

A group of people gathered and Sprucie was so scared,

As they gently took him down the neighbors came and stared.

 

He was tied to a flatbed truck as it started to flurry,

And they drove him away in quite a hurry.

 

When they stopped two hours later he saw buildings tall as the sky,

And he wondered, “Where am I now, and why?”

 

He hoped he would hear something that might explain,

But Sprucie was soon hoisted up with a giant crane.

 

Workmen on platforms wrapped each branch with wire,

And they kept on going as they reached higher and higher.

 

One week later he noticed a very large crowd,

As they all stared up at him he felt surprised and proud.

 

He heard a countdown, 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2, and then they shouted 1!

As the people roared he realized the honor he had won.

 

For the littlest spruce realized with awe and with glee,

That HE was the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree!

 

His branches were glowing with thousands of twinkling lights,

Towering tall as he brightened the New York City nights.

 

At last Sprucie was the most famous Christmas tree,

Enjoyed by the entire city and every family.

 

He always had hope and in his heart he always knew.

That it’s never too late for your dreams to come true.

 

Susan Stern Kravet is a New York based writer on the topics of parenting, women’s issues and relationships (and the occasional children’s story!)She seeks out the humor in her observations of everyday life.  She and her husband have two sons in their 20’s who provide lots of material.  In her spare time she enjoys photography, gallery hopping, and the pursuit of great cocktail bars. You can read more of her work on her blog at MyMothahood.com