The sisters turned to leave. The brother wasn't really as cute as they remembered. One sister scowled as she thought about how, when he had lived in their home, she never had a warm, dry, fluffy towel to use after getting out of the tub, but was always handed his cold, wet, used-dirty-bathwater towel. She shivered.
The other sister frowned as she considered how, because the brother was allergic to milk, they
all had had to go without ice cream. Seeing ice cubes sitting next to your cake on your plate for your birthday causes serious resentment.
They walked quickly toward the ditch until they heard a loud yell. They turned their heads out of curiosity, not slowing their pace.
Their brother was still standing in the circle of trees. He was waving his arms wildly as if something was attacking him. They could see that he would entertain himself just fine. As they threw their sleds in the ditch and looked back one last time, they saw the trees bend. It looked like a strong wind was trying to push them over. Then, with loud cracking noises, all of the trees fell, shaking the ground. The sisters, horrified, turned and ran back to their brother. They could not see him anywhere. It was quiet. There was no wind.
"Brother!" they called, but only a squirrel popped its head out of the mess. The sisters ran around and around the fallen trees, hoping their brother would appear. After several minutes of silence, they cried to each other, "We are such horrible sisters. We were going to leave him here all alone. He had every right to not want us here. We should have apologized until he agreed to return home with us. How can we leave now?"
Just as they decided to climb over the trunks and branches to search for him, they heard a loud voice shout, "Stop! Stay where you are! Do not touch those trees!"
Startled, they turned and saw the old man who had eaten their apple. He was walking towards them carrying a tiny bird cage.
"Take this home with you. You will like what's in it more than you liked that silly brother of yours. I cannot give it to you, because that would be a bad financial decision on my part, but I will sell it to you for just a small amount of gold."
The sisters looked at each other. Neither had any gold with them. They did not have any at home either, come to think of it. They only had green paper money. But they did not have time for this! Their brother could lay dying under those huge trees, and of course they would not forget him for a tiny bird cage. Though they did wonder what was in it. But that was beside the point.
They ignored the old man, not even acknowledging his offer with words, and turned back to the trees.
"Fine!" the old man grumbled. "But don't touch those trees. They are not completely harmless, yet." He shoved the bird cage into one sister's hands, mumbling about how was he going to buy that new acorn salt and pepper shaker set he wanted so much when he just gives stuff away.
The sisters hesitated for only a second. They really wanted to search for their brother immediately. He could be in great pain. As the sister holding the bird cage gently set it down on a rock, a tiny beautiful note sounded from inside. She picked the bird cage back up and both girls looked inside. There, on a slim perch in the covered top of the cage, sat a tiny silver bird. It began to sing as soon as it saw them. The tune sounded so sad, so small and so lonely that the sisters felt at that moment every feeling they must have made their brother feel with their rude behavior. Their stomachs hurt and regret filled their hearts. Oh, if only they could have another chance to be kind to their brother. They would never ignore him, or say rude things about him, or steal his cookies and apple juice again. Neither sister could bear the anguish the bird's song brought them, and together they tried to open the door to the bird cage to free it and rid themselves of the music. The door was locked. With hope, one sister pulled the golden key the old man had given her out of her pocket and tried it in the lock. The door opened and the bird flew out. It flew over their heads, its song changing to one that filled them with happiness. It circled the fallen trees, and then disappeared among them. The sisters could still hear the bird's song and slowly they remembered happy memories of their home and family. The song stopped, and then a second later their brother's head appeared among the branches. The sisters were so glad to see him! He smiled and beckoned for them to come. They climbed over the still trees to where he was, ignoring the scratches the branches gave them. He showed them the tiny nest next to him. It was the size of a walnut, and in it were squished two small spotted eggs. The bird rested on the nest's edge.
"Thank you," the brother said quietly. Then he told them what had happened after they had so horribly sent him away in the ditch. He had cried for many hours at their rude treatment, and then he had climbed out of the ditch and continued to follow it on foot. He resolved to find his own home where he was wanted. Gold coins had appeared along the way, which he had gathered, and he had eaten mushrooms which he found filled him with strength and courage.
He had found the sunny circle of trees which looked like an ideal and perfect place for his home. He had begun gathering rocks and turtle shells from the banks of the ditch to build the walls of his home.
But after spending one night among the trees, the next morning he found that he could not leave the circle. The trees would not let him. Their branches would drop and grab him or their roots would rise and block him. He was terrified. The trees hunched together, not letting light through their leaves, and the brother spent many hours in dark shadows. One day, out of anger, he threw a green turtle shell at a tree. The tree bent with pain for a moment, dropping the tiny bird's nest on the ground beside him. The brother had quickly picked up the nest, but the trees wanted it back. They clawed him and poked him, but he hid the nest in another turtle shell and the trees could not reach it. He threw other green turtle shells at the trees, but they dodged them. The trees, who had not been friendly before, were now very angry, and when the sisters had arrived the brother was fighting them. He had not wanted them to enter the circle because he knew that none of them would be able to leave again. As the sisters had turned to leave, the trees became truly furious with the brother. He feared for his life as they bent towards him. He had hit them with his sword, which really did not have any effect on their hard trunks, since it was made out of fabric, and he had picked up another turtle shell, a red one, and threw it as hard as he could. This shell must have been more powerful than the others because it bounced from tree to tree, hacking and breaking their trunks, and all of them had fallen at once. The brother had luckily climbed into the shell with the tiny nest in order to protect it. He had been stunned when the trees had fallen. In the silence after, he had heard the bird's song, and then tiny chirps coming from the eggs in response. He had climbed out of the broken and dead trees all around him, and that is when he and the sisters had seen each other.
Now they all wondered at the tiny, brown nest, and the small, perfect bird. They heard a low cough behind them.
"I see you have freed my bird and found her eggs," said the old man. "Those trees once were good, but when my bird built her first and only nest there, they became greedy and desired to keep the beautiful eggs for themselves. The bird left to hunt one day, and they would not let her back in. Slowly, over the years, they have become dark and mean. When your brother came, they were very upset that he would disturb them. Thank you for doing what we dared not. Though, you could have at least paid me something, since when those eggs hatch, you will find everything that you have been searching for."
The brother smiled and emptied handfuls of gold coins out of his pockets on to a rock. The sisters, remembering the gold coin they had touched as they were floating down the ditch, reached into their pockets. One sister produced the coin, which she added to the top of the pile.
"Finally!" said the old man, and he scooped the coins into the empty bird cage and left.
After hugging each other and apologizing for a very long while, the sisters and the brother, holding hands, turned to go home. At that moment, both of the eggs cracked open. Two very tiny birds, as big as ladybugs, flew out. They circled their mother, and all three birds flew away.
The brother touched the shining broken shells, and immediately all three were standing before their home. The door was open and their mother was calling them in for dinner. The three siblings looked at each other, and then laughed as they followed three little birds into their home. The birds settled quietly in the nest the children's mother had placed in their silk tree to bring good luck to their home. And they lived happily ever after.
The End!!!
