The Ticklish Tree

There was a big old tree in the middle of the park. Nobody paid much attention to it. Until Lily. Lily was climbing it on a Tuesday afternoon when something very weird happened. Her fingers grabbed the bark and the tree went... "Hee hee hee!" Lily froze. Did that tree just GIGGLE? She touched it again. "Hee hee hee!" The branch wobbled. The leaves shook. PLOP! PLOP! PLOP! Three acorns bonked Lily right on the head. "OW!" She touched it AGAIN. "HEE HEE HEE!" PLOP! PLOP! PLOP! PLOP! PLOP! More acorns. EVERYWHERE. Lily slid down the trunk. The tree giggled the whole way. She looked up at it. "You're TICKLISH," she whispered. She ran straight home to tell Sam. "Trees can't be ticklish," said Sam. "It was probably the wind." "It was NOT the wind. Come and see!" Sam followed Lily to the park. He crossed his arms and stared at the tree. "It's just a normal tree," he said. And he leaned against the trunk. "Sam, DON'T—" Too late. "HEE HEE HEE!" The tree ERUPTED. WHOOSH! Down came a frisbee. BONK! A soccer ball. Right on Sam's head. SPLAT! Someone's old sandwich from who KNOWS how long ago. It stuck to his shoulder. "That was just the wind," said Sam, peeling the sandwich off. "THAT was the WIND?!" "...A very strong wind." Lily shook her head. She told her friends. Her friends told THEIR friends. By Wednesday, every kid in the park knew about the ticklish tree. But nobody told Bruno. Bruno was a big fluffy dog. And Bruno was ITCHY. He backed up against the trunk and scratched. Scratch. Scratch. Scratch. "Don't—" said Lily. "Hehehehe!" The tree started shaking. Bruno scratched HARDER. "Hehehehehehe!" The tree shook HARDER. Bruno scratched with EVERYTHING HE HAD. "HAHAHAHAHAHA!" The tree went WILD. WHOOOOSH! Hundreds of leaves exploded off the branches. Red ones! Orange ones! Yellow ones! They buried Bruno from nose to tail. He burst out and shook himself. POOF! Leaves went EVERYWHERE. In people's hair. On their picnics. Up their noses. "ACHOO!" sneezed Mr. Patterson from his bench. A leaf landed in his tea. Bruno wagged his tail. He was not itchy anymore. By Thursday, half the town had come to see the ticklish tree. That's when the birds arrived. Not one bird. Not two birds. A WHOLE FLOCK. They landed on every branch. Every twig. Every little spot they could find. "Oh no," said Lily. Dozens of tiny feet. All at once. Pitter patter. Pitter patter. Pitter patter. "Hee hee hee..." The birds shuffled around to get comfy. Pitter patter pitter patter pitter patter. "Hee hee HEE HEE HEE..." The shaking got bigger. And BIGGER. And BIGGER. "BAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The tree shook so hard the park bench slid sideways. The fountain water sloshed over the sides. SPLASH! CRASH! SPLOOSH! Kids were running and laughing and slipping on wet leaves. The birds held on tight, bobbing up and down like a feathery roller coaster. Then — all at once — they let go. A big cloud of birds swooped up into the sky. The tree stood still. Its last few leaves floated gently to the ground. Mr. Patterson was sitting three benches away from where he started. Still holding his empty teacup. "...What just happened?" he said. That evening, Lily came back to the park. Just her and the tree. She sat down and leaned against the trunk. Very gently. "Hee hee," went the tree. Very softly. Lily smiled and patted the bark. "Same time tomorrow?" The leaves rustled in the breeze. PLOP. One last acorn landed on Lily's head. She laughed. "I'll take that as a yes." THE END.