"I'm the most beautiful tree in the whole forest," boasted the flowering tree. "Everyone comes from miles around, just so they can stare at me."

"Everyone comes to sit on me," replied the twisted tree.

"The only reason people come to sit on you is because they want to stare at wonderful me," bragged the flowering tree.

"I just love having little children crawl all over me," stated the twisted tree, "and the couples hold hands and kiss when they sit on me."

"Yuk, all of those people on me would make me sick," exclaimed the flowering tree.

"Remember last week when that mama bear and new cubs climbed all over me?" reminisced the twisted tree. "Every single one of their steps tickled me with delight."

"Oh, you make me sick," remarked the flowering tree, "I would never want anything climbing all over me and crushing my beautiful flowers. That's why I asked Mother Nature for huge thorns to cover my trunk and limbs."

"I just asked Mother Nature that I would be able to be around animals and people," said the twisted tree.

The next day the sky turned a ghostly grey. Huge clouds started to form. The leaves rustled around as they were captured by the piercing wind. Immense booms shook the other side of the mountain. Every animal was running, looking for a place to hide because of the enormous storm ready to explode. Just then the sky started to spit rocks.

"Ouch, that hurts," moaned the flowering tree. "All of my flowers are falling off. I wish the hail would stop."

It was hailing quite severely. The flowering tree's flowers were mutilated, and now the bark was starting to break off. All of the trees' lives were in danger, except for one, the twisted tree. Every animal, large and small, was clinging to its limbs and trunk.

"Gee, if all these animals are protecting me, then by the end of the storm all of the other trees will have been beaten to death by the hail," contemplated the twisted tree.

So the twisted tree moved his limbs up and down until every animal either flew or crawled off.

"Why don't you want us on you?" asked the animals.

"Because you need to protect the rest of the trees from the hail and from dying," said the twisted tree.

"No problem," said the animals.

"Come, save me, you little things called animals. I'm hurting bad," pleaded the flowering tree.

"Are you crazy? We'll kill ourselves on your piercing thorns," replied the animals.

"Pleeaazzzzzeeee," begged the flowering tree.

After the storm, the forest had a big party to celebrate the storm being over. Everybody partied except for one - the flowering tree. She had been cracked open by the hail because there were noanimals protecting her.

Every year, hundreds of people flock to sit on the ever-so-popular twisted tree. There is a huge sign that tells the story. The sign is standing right be-side the twisted tree, where the flowering tree used to be. 1