The children of the village loved to play in the water and bet against each other who could climb the tree higher and faster. Unknown to everyone there was one more person, always present when the children came to play.
The trees spirit, ‘though invisible, loved to keep them company, laughing, playing, sleeping. After the adults installed a swing, it often sat there, after everyone left, swinging forward and backward, higher and higher, laughing with a high, lovely voice of a small child. Should one be able to see it, one would see a girl, around the age of ten, with a white dress and long, blond hair, long enough to reach her knees.
But as time went by, less and less children came to play. Everyone moved and the village disappeared. Only the weeping willow on the lakeside stayed behind. It was a lonely time for the trees spirit. It still sat on the wing, until it broke one day, but without her friends, it was no fun at all.
Years went by, the seasons changed. The tree grew and became old. The only visitors were animals, but none stayed long. The weeping willow had long lost hope to meet her friends again, but one day, a family came to visit and built their tents on the other side of the lake.
The family consisted of four people. The parents, a grown-up daughter and a boy around the age of twelve. While the adults stayed near their camp, the boy played all long the lakeside. His favorite place: in the shadow, under the weeping willows wide branches.
How happy she was. And imagine the surprise when he spoke to her, like she was a normal girl! Soon they were playing and talking all day long, even after she told him, what she was. He didn’t mind.
But finaly the day came, when his family wanted to go home and the friends had to say goodbye. It was a very sad moment and they cried heavily. Confused about their sons behaviour the parents promised him to return next year.
And so the boy begun to visit every year to see the weeping willow, even when he became an adult and had children himself. Sadly, ‘though the spirit kept her young appearance, the tree itself grew older and older, until it became too old and it was decided to cut it down.
There was nothing they could do and when they arrived with their chainsaws the spirit cried silently. Her friends stood behind the lumberjacks with a sad look on their faces. The youngest child, only three years of age, picked up a fallen branch and held it tightly, as they turned around, leaving the lake and the weeping willow behind, leaving the vanishing spirit of the tree.
As soon as they returned home, the child run into their garden, starting to dig a hole to plant the branch in. The parents watched, without much hope, but they couldn’t stop their youngest. And a few month later…..
The branch began to grow. It grew and grew, it’s roots spread through the earth, stabilizing the new, young tree. Branches reached out and as the tree grew the spirits powers were restored.
Confused and surprised she opened her eyes, looking at the family, that had been her friends for the longest time, smiling brightly as they welcomed her back into this world.