One day a young boy sat down under a huge tree.
He looked very sad so the tree spoke to him and said:
"Hello, today is a beautiful day, the sun is shining, the wind is calm, what can be making you so sad on a day like this?"
The boy looked up and answered:
"I'm just bored, there is nothing to do and nothing to look forward to."
"Bored you say?" Said the tree very surprised.
"Climb up my branches a little way and tell me what you see."
The boy began to climb and after a while stopped and looked out through the leaves.
"I see a hill, with a castle at the top, flags are flying and horses are running, there are tents and banners, smoke from cooking fires, I can hear the sound of laughing, it looks as though they are having summer fair." Said the boy.
"Climb a little higher." Said the tree. "And look again."
So the boy did, the tree was very tall and as he climbed a gentle cool breeze began to flow across him. This time, when he looked out, he could see much further.
"What do you see?" Said the tree.
"I see a pretty green forest and a sparkling river that runs through it, little boats are on the river and people are swimming and playing in the water, it looks like a lot of fun." Said the boy.
"Climb as high as you can." Said the tree. "And tell me what you can see from my highest branches. But be careful, you would have gone a long way."
The boy continued to climb, no longer bored, as he made his way up through the higher thinner branches he noticed, for the first time, just how beautiful the blue sky was. How amazing the puffy white clouds were as they drifted slowly across te sky, like giant mountains full of valleys and caverns. He watched smiling as the birds sweeping and soaring, chirping and calling played happily in the rising air.
When he could climb no further, he looked out once again. Past a castle and the fun of the fair, beyond the forest and the pretty boats and then further still.
"What do you see from the way up there?" Said the tree.
"I see an ocean." Said the boy. "A vast, glittering ocean."
His voice full of wandering delight.
"I see the waves rolling up into the shore, I see huge ships cutting through the water."
The tree chuckled quietly and asked: "And where do you think those ships are going?"
"To other lands." Said the boy. "To other lands far away from here."
And he began to think on that: "Other lands, other people, excitement."
As he climbed down to the ground once again the tree asked:
"Did you like what you saw from my branches?"
"Oh yes." Said the boy. "Very much."
Then and with a slightly more serious voice, the tree leaned over to the boy and said: "And what did you learn?"
The boy looked up no longer sad, but with face glowing with new ideas and plans.
"To get more from life, we sometimes need to be able to see just a bit further than nose and we need to put in a little extra effort to climb a little higher. I've learned that the world is beautiful and huge and full of fun, adventure and possibilities" Said the boy.
"Then I think you need to get on with it, don't you?" Said the tree with a laugh.
"I think so too." Said the boy. "Goodbye tree."
"Goodbye young man." Said the tree.