THE DAY THE WILLOW LAUGHED:

 In a beautiful forest, I found Wendy willow weeping,

Tears fell down her lovely spring dress of green,

She was sad, oh so sad.

Mr. Frog popped his head out the river & said,

“Wendy willow, why do you weep?

Is it because you cannot sleep?”

“No Mr. Frog, I feel so very hurt,

Because people fill this river with dirt”.

The dragonfly of velvet red & silver wing, flew to ask,

“Wendy, do you cry because you cannot sing?”

“No dragonfly, I cry for the factory smog in the sky.

The kingfisher on the bough of a tree asks,

“Why weep Wendy, do you wish to see the sea?”

“No kingfisher of turquoise blue,

I weep because I am sad for you”.

“Why for me you silly old tree?”

“Because soon there won´t be a tree for you,

The woodmen are cutting them all down”.

“Wendy why do you sigh?” asked the rabbit in brown.

“Oh”, said the willow, “look at the rubbish on the ground,

I weep & I cry, I’m sad & I sigh, to see such a mess,

& I cannot rest beside my cool river.

There´s smoke choking birds from factories afar,

There´s oil in streams, rivers & seas,

Killing beast & fish, stunting flowers & trees,

There´s rubbish where grass now cannot grow,

There´s fumes now where sweet winds used to blow.

I weep for these things my dear friends”.

The frog shed a tear, the dragonfly felt fear,

And the kingfisher asked the rabbit in brown,

“What can we do for Wendy our friend?

We cannot watch her weep, nor see her frown”

The animals thought of what they could do,

The frog made a joke, but Wendy just cried,

The dragonfly sang a song,

But things just seemed so wrong for Wendy willow,

The kingfisher made a silken pillow,

For Wendy to rest her wet fingers,

And the rabbit in brown acted the clown,

For Wendy who just wept & frowned.

However one day, a sound filled the air,

A glorious sound to the forest folk.

It was a laughing so loud, so happy, so glad.

The frog, silver-winged dragonfly,

The kingfisher & the rabbit in brown,

Rushed to see Wendy the weeping willow tree.

Yes, she was laughing & crying, but tears of joy.

“Why do you laugh on this fine day Wendy?”

Asked her friend the little green frog.

“Because it´s the happiest day of my life,”

Said Wendy with a leafy grin,

“Because I just saw a child throw a paper

Into the rubbish bin”.