Toby, an oak tree, lived in a big, thick forest. He loved his forest home but somehow was not satisfied with being stuck in one place. Being only 20 years old, Toby was relatively young for an oak tree. Some of the other trees around him were much older and much taller. These older trees protected Toby and taught him how to live and grow in this forest they shared. Although the forest was thick, a road passed through it and many travelers passed along the road. Some would stop and rest under Toby's branches and, while resting, they would fill Toby's trunk ears with stories of their adventures. Over time, Toby himself wondered what it would be like to travel and have adventures of his own, but he couldn't move. He was rooted here in his forest. The older trees kept warning Toby that venturing out of the forest was very dangerous. They told him he was safe being rooted here. Toby refused to listen to their warnings and kept wishing and wishing he could be freed from his roots and move like the travelers that stopped and visited with him. One day, one of these travelers heard Toby's frustrations and sadness.
'Oh' Toby said, 'What adventures I would have if only I could move.'
It just so happened that this traveler had run across another tree that had been freed from its roots and was exploring different areas and having exciting times traveling across the land. The traveler told Toby that this other tree had told him about a Tree Wizard that could free trees and give them the power to walk. This got Toby very excited, he asked,
"Do you know how I can contact this Tree Wizard?" The traveler thought and with a smile of remembrance said, "I will tell you what I learned the night I met this travelling tree and rested beneath its branches." The traveler continued:
"I had been walking for many hours this one day and by the time night came I was very tired. I entered a forest, very much like this one and was looking for a place to rest for the night. To my surprise, one of the trees on the side of the road spoke to me and told me to join him because he had been travelling all day as well and would like some company to share stories with as we settled down for the night. I was surprised that this tree could talk to me and apparently could move. So I laid my pack down and asked this tree how he was able to travel, the tree spoke" .......
