FRIENDLY FAIRIES

Illustrated Children's Book by Johnny Gruelle 1919 - online version

	THE OLD, ROUGH STONE AND THE GNARLED TREE
	A great rough stone lay beneath a gnarled old tree. Years ago a tiny squirrel had climbed upon the stone to nibble some nuts, but before he had finished he was startled away.
	"There!" thought the stone to himself as he saw a nut roll to the ground, "now that nut will take root and grow into a tree and I will have to lie here for ages beneath its branches. I wish the silly squirrel had gone some other place to eat the nuts!"
	When the little nut took root and sent its tiny shoots up in the air, the old, rough Stone said, "There! I knew it!" and he disliked the tree from that time on. The old, rough Stone watched the tiny green shoot grow and grow until it grew into an enormous tree. "Just see how he pushes me up in the air with his roots!" the old, rough Stone said to himself. When the gnarled tree was covered with leaves in the summer time, the old, rough Stone said, "Just see how he hides the blue sky from my view!"