Isaac and the Ice Cream Tree

Isaac didn't just like ice cream. He was OBSESSED. He loved it in a bowl. He loved it in a cone. He would have eaten it out of a dirty boot if his mom let him. (She didn't). But today was a DISASTER. Isaac opened the freezer and gasped. EMPTY! Well, almost empty. Just one chocolate paddle pop stick sitting there like a sad little soldier. Isaac stared at the stick. He stared at the garden. Ping! A lightbulb went on in his head. "If apple seeds grow apple trees," Isaac whispered, "then ice cream sticks must grow..." He didn't finish the sentence. He grabbed a spoon and ran outside. SCOOP! DIG! PAT! He planted the stick next to the roses. He watered it with a cup of milk (just in case). "Sleep tight," he said. The next morning, Isaac woke up to a weird sound. CREAK. POP. SQUISH. He looked out the window. "WHOA!" The garden was gone. In the middle of the grass stood a GIANT tree. But it didn't have normal bark. The trunk was made of crispy, crunchy waffle cone. It didn't have green leaves. It had scoops! Big, round, freezing cold scoops hanging from the branches! Isaac ran outside in his pajamas. He sniffed the air. It smelled like sugar and vanilla. He licked the trunk. His tongue stuck for a second! "Mmph!" He pulled it free. CRUNCH. "Waffle wood!" Isaac cheered. He looked up. A blue scoop dangled right above his nose. PLOP. It landed right in his mouth. "Bubblegum!" Isaac mumbled happily. He ate a red one (Strawberry Surprise). He ate a green one (Minty Monster). He ate a brown one (Choco-Chunk). SLURP. GULP. MUNCH. Isaac was in heaven. But then... His tummy made a noise. GURGLE-WURGLE-POP. His toes started to tingle. His nose went numb. His eyebrows turned white with frost. BRAIN FREEZE! Isaac started talking backwards! "Ym doog os si siht!" He tried to walk but his legs went in different directions! He looked like a wonky robot! He wobbled. He tripped over a root. SPLAT! Right into a puddle of melted raspberry ripple. "Sticky!" Isaac whined. A bee flew by and got stuck in the puddle. BZZZZ! (It looked like it was asking for help!) But Isaac wasn't the only one who smelled the sugar. Sniff. Sniff. A squirrel popped its head over the fence. Then another. Then a very chubby pigeon. Then the neighbor's cat, Fluffy. The squirrel grabbed a nut-flavored scoop. CHOMP. The pigeon pecked at a vanilla scoop. PECK-PECK-SQUISH. Fluffy the cat got a sugar rush. She started zooming in circles around the tree. MEOW-ZOOOM! "Hey!" shouted Isaac. "My tree!" But more animals came! Raccoons! Ducks! Even a badger with a sweet tooth! They climbed the waffle-branches. CRACK. "Careful!" yelled Isaac. A raccoon slipped on a banana split and slid down the trunk. WHEEE-SPLAT! The tree started to shake. CRACK! SNAP! More animals kept coming! A whole family of possums! Someone's dog named Buster! WOOF! WOOF! Three pigeons fighting over one scoop! The melted ice cream was EVERYWHERE now! It pooled around Isaac's feet. It dripped off the fence. It made the whole yard look like a giant, sticky, rainbow swamp! A duck slipped! QUACK-SPLAT! Buster slipped! WOOF-SLIDE! Even Isaac slipped again! WHOA-THUD! The tree gave a low groan. Creeeeeak. A big branch started to crack. Isaac saw it happening. "STOP!" Isaac screamed. He waved his sticky arms. "You're hurting it!" He grabbed the hose. SPRAY! He sprayed water (not milk) at the squirrels. He shooed away the ducks. "Go home!" The animals ran away, leaving sticky footprints everywhere. Isaac looked at his tree. The waffle-bark was chipping. Branches were broken. Ice cream dripped everywhere like rainbow tears. "I'm sorry," Isaac whispered. "We were too greedy." He patted the waffle trunk gently. He cleaned up the sticky mess. Isaac watered the tree gently. He chased away the squirrels. The next morning, something appeared! A tiny bud! It popped open. One single, perfect, vanilla scoop. Isaac smiled. He didn't grab it. He didn't eat it in one bite. He waited. His friend Maya came over later. "Is that... ice cream?" she asked, pointing at the tiny scoop. "Yep," said Isaac proudly. "Want to share?" He carefully broke it in half. They each took one piece. LICK. "WOW!" said Maya. "This is the BEST ice cream ever!" Isaac smiled. She was right. Sharing one perfect scoop was way better than gobbling up a whole tree. The End