Once upon a time, in a land far away, there was a great forest of giant trees. In the very middle of the forest where the sun could only shine for a little while every day, a tiny “Sprout” popped up and began to grow. None of the trees or plants knew where Sprout came from or how Sprout was planted in their forest.

Perhaps the seed came on a great wind from far away. Maybe the tiny seed was stuck in the mud on the back of a tortoise passing slowly through. A low-hanging branch could have swept the seed off the shell of the tortoise so it could settle on the floor of the forest.

The warmth of the sun for a short time each day, and the dampness from the rain was enough to cause tiny Sprout to stretch out a root and begin to grow. None of the ferns or other small plants cared for the little newcomer. They didn’t understand Sprout and thought the plant was pushing them around as it began to grow.

When Sprout did begin to grow tiny branches, the branches curled upward toward the great heaven unlike any of the other trees of the forest, whose branches leaned down toward the ground. Even the very highest branches of the greatest trees pointed down. Sprout didn’t care about the ferns and didn’t listen to them when they made fun of its little branches. Sprout quickly outgrew the ferns and became taller than the other plants who didn’t understand why this little tree (for Sprout was beginning to look very much like a little tree to all the other plants) had branches that curled up. After a few years, the great trees began to notice the little tree and began to question where the little tree came from. When they saw the way the limbs of the little tree pointed up, they laughed and laughed at the little tree. The wind was full of their laughter. They asked how the rain could wash off the little tree, and they warned the little tree that the snow would catch in its upturned branches and make them too heavy to hold up.

Little Sprout just kept growing and raising each branch up toward heaven where the warm sun felt so good and where the wind dipped down to tickle its branches. No matter what the other trees said to the little tree, it wouldn’t stop growing and getting taller and taller until the little tree became a great tree too. Its branches stretched and curled up on the ends and its leaves were like needles of green.

As the tree in the center of the great forest got bigger, it could be seen above many of the other great trees. There were mountains in the distance, and the air was quite cold as the wind blew, but the tree with the upswept limbs grew strong and tall. It could bear the weight of the snows when they came, and it loved to feel the rain on its branches. The other great trees of the forest began to respect the tree at their center for it was strong and tall and provided shelter below for the animals of the forest.

One day, an eagle flew to the center of the forest and circled high above the tree with the upturned branches. He called out e...EE  e...EE? That meant: where did you come from “Arolla Pine?” All the great trees began to turn and sway in the breeze and pass the name “Arolla” from one to the other. Finally, all the plants and trees of the forest knew the name of the tree they had watched grow up among them. It was a great Arolla pine from the far mountains surrounding their forest. Arolla was happy to be there in the forest and to know the eagle knew its name. “Arolla” would never be called by its nickname, “Sprout,” again.