Arlo and the Fallen Tree

As soon as Arlo’s feet hit the wood chipped trail, he took off running. He couldn’t wait to get to the Exploration Area. He was planning to make a cake in the mud kitchen, same as he did every Wednesday afternoon. He would mix dirt and water from the pond to create the perfect batter. His mom even let him bring a stick of chalk with, so he could add sprinkles to his cake.

Arlo ran as fast as he could, never slowing down, not even once. When he turned left toward the clearing, he saw something that stopped him in his tracks. Arlo ran back to his mom.

“Mom! Mom, I have to tell the workers! It’s horrible. I have to tell them!” he blurted.

“Arlo, what is it?” his mom asked.

Arlo couldn’t get the words to leave his mouth.

“I have to show you. Come!” he urged.

Mom picked up his younger brother, Cam, and jogged after Arlo.

“See! I told you. It’s horrible!” Arlo pointed to the mud kitchen.

A giant tree had fallen. It had landed right on the kitchen. The weight of the crash had smashed the sink and cracked the counter right in half.

“Oh, Arlo…” Mom began.

“I have to go tell the workers!” Arlo insisted.

“I’m sure they probably already know. But we can walk back to the interpretive center to tell them, if you’d like.”

“I DO want to walk back and tell them!” Arlo cried.

“No walk!” wailed Cam.

“Maybe we could tell them later, on our way out,” Mom suggested.

Arlo thought about throwing himself down on the ground and screaming until Mom let him walk back, but the longer he stared at the disaster, the more he wanted to keep staring.

“Okay. We can do it on the way out,” he agreed.

Arlo inched closer to the wreckage. The sight of it made him want to cry. At the same time, it filled him with an overwhelming curiosity. He crouched down to investigate.

Arlo reached out to touch one of the branches. Its bark felt rough, maybe even sharp. There were sticks and twigs littering the ground.

“I need to clean this up. I need to fix this problem,” Arlo murmured.

He grabbed as many of the smaller sticks as his hands could hold. He piled them up next to the base of the fallen tree’s trunk. Then he went back for more.

Arlo’s heart was racing and he was breathing fast. Today was Wednesday. That was the day he was supposed to make a cake in the mud kitchen. He couldn’t use the mud kitchen when it was broken. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. This wasn’t part of the plan.

When all of the loose twigs and branches were in a pile, Arlo got to work breaking off the smaller branches that were still attached to the tree.

“It will be easier for the workers to chainsaw the tree if I take the branches off,” he said.

Grandpa had a chainsaw. Arlo was sure about that. He’d seen it in the shed last fall when he’d helped Grandpa rake leaves. Grandpa’s chainsaw was orange. It was loud.

“Mom, can we ask Grandpa to come here and bring his chainsaw?” Arlo asked.

“Oh, Arlo, the park has special workers who take care of problems like this. Visitors to the park aren’t allowed to bring in chainsaws,” Mom replied.

“But I need to clean this up. We need to chop up the tree. I’m supposed to make a cake in the mud kitchen, but the mud kitchen is broken,” Arlo sobbed.

“It will be okay,” Mom tried to soothe him.

“Of course it won’t be okay. Today is Wednesday! I’m supposed to make a cake in the mud kitchen. THAT was the plan!” Arlo shouted.

“Arlo, listen. I know things aren’t going the way you thought they would. This is one of those times where we have to be flexible. The mud kitchen is broken, but what if we find another spot for you to make your cake?”

“That won’t work!” Arlo spat the words out.

“Are you sure? The pots and pans are still here. The spoons and whisk and measuring cups are all in the storage bin. None of them were broken. The pond is still here,” Mom pointed out.

Arlo clenched his fists. Then, he relaxed his hands. He tried to take some slow, deep breaths. He scanned the Exploration Area for a suitable mud kitchen substitute. Would the bench work? No, grown-ups might want to sit there. Maybe the big rock? No, it didn’t have a flat surface. Arlo’s heart threatened to start pounding again. His hands wanted to form fists.

Then, he saw it. A perfectly round stump. It was big enough for all his kitchen tools. Arlo ran to the basket of pots and pans. He pulled out two bowls, two spoons, a set of measuring cups, a spatula, and a circular cake pan. He carried everything over to the stump.

Arlo arranged his tools on top of the make-shift kitchen. He used one bowl to collect water from the pond. He filled the other with dirt that he spooned out of the ground. Little by little, Arlo poured the bowl of dirt into the bowl of water. He whisked the concoction, blending the ingredients to make mud. When his batter was just the right consistency, he poured it into the cake pan. He used a spatula to smooth the top.

By the end of the afternoon, Arlo had finished his cake. He also made two batches of muffins, and a loaf of banana bread with Cam. He even smashed some of his chalk and mixed it with water to make cups of juice. When it was time to go home, Arlo left his baked goods and the beverages on the stump for the next child to enjoy.

The fallen tree and the broken mud kitchen had almost ruined Arlo’s day. He was proud that he was able to find a solution to his problem instead.