Save The Trees!

• Kristine Van Dort, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2008

“Mum! Can you drop me off at school today?”

“Francesca! I’m busy! WALK!”

Francesca went to St Paul’s Primary School.

“OK…”

On the way to school she heard a very faint motor noise.

“I wonder what that is?” she thought.

Suddenly it got a little louder and louder and then really loud! Francesca started running. She ran as fast as she could, until she stopped to see what it was.

All it was, was an old run down truck with tree-cutting equipment at the back. “Phew!”

But when she saw the truck was driving into her school, that was a whole different story.

Francesca ran up to the man. He had a dirty old vest on and a workman’s hat.

“Excuse me, Sir; are you going to cut down that tree?”

“Well, that is my job, isn’t it little girl?”

”But it’s killing nature!”

“Well, that’s your problem.”

“Oh, and one more thing before you kill all the trees in the world and no one will be able to breath and we will all die!”

She took a deep breath. “Don’t cut that tree down!!”

“And why not?!”

“Because that’s where my friend Sally and I play on and we have lots of fun.”

“Sorry, that’s my order. Hey! Aren’t you meant to be in class by now??"

Francesca looked around, the school grounds looked deserted.

“Oh no! I’ll miss my math class with Mr Henderson!!”


On the way back from school she thought what could stop them from cutting the trees down.

“Maybe if I say that people need paper for different things?. Nah, that won’t be very important to them”.

When Francesca got home, she went upstairs to her room, slammed the door and slopped herself onto her bed.

“Franny!, what was that noise?” her Mum shouted from the kitchen.

“Nothing!”

Francesca lay there for hours thinking what she could do to stop them.

“Eureka!”


The next day the same man was there to cut down another tree. Francesca knew exactly what to do.

“Excuse me, sir.”

“Not you again, what do you want?”

“I just want to ask you one question before I go into class.”

“Yes?”

“Um, well how did you get into your job?”

“Well when I was small I liked trees, so that’s why!”

“Did you ever play with your friends on a tree?”

“You said one question!!”

“Please, just one more!”

“Hmm, OK, Yes we did play on the trees around the school.”

“OK then, why do you want cut them down now?”

“The man started thinking. “Well I didn’t think of that!”

“Then why don’t stop if you like trees so much?”

This time he kept thinking for a long time.

“Tsk, that’s true why don’t I stop??”

“I’ll tell your principal, Mr…?”

"Goldston.” Francesca added.

"I can’t keep doing this, I’ll find a new job."


At home she felt that she had accomplished an important task.

“The world is saved!"