Memories of the maple

By Jaxson DeCelle, 9,  Middletown Springs, VT

As I look in our backyard, I see a small, beautiful maple tree. When I was young our dog passed away, and my dad and I bought a small maple tree. We buried our dog beneath the tree and I asked the tree to take good care of him. Over time, our other dog passed and we also buried her under the maple. I asked the maple to take good care of her, too.

One day I found a caterpillar. It was a tiger swallowtail. I did some research on my computer and found out how to take care of it. It loved its enclosure and I had named her Butter. As she got older, she made what looked like a spider web outside of herself and hung for a long time. When she came out, she was beautiful. She had become a butterfly! I did some more research on Butter and found out she would only live for two weeks. I managed to raise her for two months. When she passed I put her under the tree and said goodbye. 

 A year later, I found a salamander. It seemed like it wanted a friend, so I found another one. I decided to take them with me for a little while. When we got home my sister and I built them a nice size enclosure. While we were building the enclosure one of the salamanders ran away when we were not looking. That left only the one I named Sal. He and I were friends but one day he was on a rock and he slipped and got hurt, so I put him down. When he went under the tree I looked at the tree and said, "Take good care of them all.” Every time I go outside, I look at the maple and smile. I think of all of my animals because the tree helps me remember them. I then hug the tree and walk away.[Art opposite page: By Lila Oquendo, 14, Rutland, VT – The Tree]

YWP

VT

Site Admin

More by YWP