“A long time ago there was a tree named Ashton. He was a lonely tree that lived at Elysian Heights Elementary School. The kids were mean to the tree. They would kick it and stomp on it. They would even pick his leaves. One day a strange girl came to school. She was from New York and her name was Ashley. She had on a denim skirt with a gray t-shirt with gray hair and a sparkly red bow on top of her head. She always would get teased by the kids. They called her sock head and dust face. She was very smart and loved to read. So, she read in the garden, often against the tree, every day. The tree wanted to be her friend so he had to show her that he was alive. With the girl on the tree, he waved his branches up, down, across, and all other ways he could think of, until the girl smiled and told him, “I will come back tomorrow with a surprise” “BYE’’ and she left. The tree waited with curiosity until she came back the next morning. She was carrying a white sack that sparkled. She shook some dust and he began to have wonderful powers. He shot red sparks on everything, even the kids. The kids were changing too. They started to feed the tree and water it. They loved the tree and they did not realize it. He was finally happy again. TODAY ENRICH LA ALONG WITH MR. O’GRADY BUILT BENCHES AROUND ASHTON, AND NOW WE AT ELYSIAN HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL READ TO ASHTON.”
BY A STUDENT AT ELYSIAN PARK ELEMENTARY
