The Singing Tree

Writer: Elizabeth Hobbs

Once upon a time there was a magical Kingdom known as the Kingdom of the Singing Tree. Everyone who lived there was happy and confident and loved to sing to the Singing Tree at the heart of the Kingdom. In return the tree would light up the land with love and warmth. The caretaker of the Singing Tree was a Fairy Queen who shared all the magical songs with the people of the Kingdom and helped to distribute the light and warmth of the tree throughout the land.  

Eventually, stories of the kingdom of the singing tree and its magical fairy queen reached the ears of a powerful King from the North. He wanted the power of the Singing Tree for himself and he devised a plan to harness the warm power of the Tree. He started holding auditions so that only the best of the best singers could sing to the tree, in order to make it more powerful. Because of this, the people of the Kingdom of the Singing Tree began to be afraid they weren’t good enough to sing, and so one by one they stopped trying. The Singing Tree began to die, and the Kingdom of the Singing Tree became a cold, sad and fear-filled place.  

Several Kingdoms away a young princess heard the tragic tale of the Kingdom of the Singing Tree, and because she loved music and was very brave, she decided to journey to the Tree to see if she could help. She sought out the Fairy Queen and bit by bit started to learn the long-lost songs that would spread warmth throughout the land. Her infectious joy for music sparked the memory of the love of singing in the people of the Kingdom and they joined with her to sing to the tree. The Singing Tree and the Fairy Queen started to regain their power and return love and warmth to the land. Everyone realized that love and joy were much stronger than perfection and fear and that music was for everyone, no matter what their voices sounded like. Each year thereafter, the Princess would lead the entire Kingdom on a journey to the Singing Tree where everyone would sing their hearts to the tree before burning all of their fears on a big fire to remember that fear is just fear, and that love and trust is much more powerful than being afraid. 

The End