Once upon a time, in a forest filled with trees, there lived a scab named Scratch. Scratch was a mischievous scab who loved to play pranks on the other trees in the forest. One day, he came up with a silly plan to trick the sapwood trees.

Scratch climbed up to the top of a tall sandstone cliff and shouted, "Hey sapwood trees! I found a secret way to turn sap into gold! All you have to do is climb up this scaffold and let me put a saddle on you!"

The sapwood trees, being gullible, believed Scratch and eagerly climbed up the scaffold one by one. Scratch then tied a sash around each tree, effectively trapping them.

The other trees in the forest soon realized what had happened and started to panic. But then, a wise old oak tree had an idea. "Don't worry," he said. "We'll just sand down the scaffold until it's smooth and slippery. Scratch won't be able to hold on and will fall off, freeing the sapwood trees."

The other trees immediately started sanding the scaffold, and it wasn't long before Scratch slipped and fell to the ground. The sapwood trees were freed, and they all laughed at the silly scab who had tried to trick them.

From that day on, the sapwood trees were more careful and always double-checked before believing any outrageous claims. And Scratch learned his lesson and never tried to play a prank on the trees again.

Reflections

1. Who was the main character in the story and what was he like?
2. Why did the sapwood trees believe the scab's trick?
3. How did the other trees in the forest help the sapwood trees?
4. What did Scratch learn from his experience?
5. Why do you think the story is called "The Silly Scab and the Sapwood Trees: A Forest Folly"?
6. What can you learn from the story about being careful and checking the truth before believing something?