long ago, perhaps it was the creation, perhaps the dream time, there were no trees on the earth. the sun was hot and powerful, and many of the animals couldn't stand to be under it during the day.

Lizard would bask in the sun, warm and comfortable, and wonder, "Why does nobody else enjoy the sun like I do?" each evening he would try to find someone to ask the question, but as the earth got colder he would fall asleep. sometimes Lizard dreamed of thousands of tiny animals with furry skin who emerged from the earth and ran around him as he dreamed.

for their part, the smaller animals were terrified of the night time landscape. they didn't enjoy running around in the dark, and they were nervous about waking Lizard as he slept. each night, they scratched around in the shrubs trying to find some food before taking cover again when the sun rose.

one day, Lizard was feeling particularly alone, and he turned to the Sun. "Sun, why does nobody come out here and talk with me?"

suddenly Lizard heard a loud voice, which, though it barely articulated any words, seized his whole body. "Lizard, I am too powerful for the other animals. They hide during the day and only come out at night. You must find a way to welcome them." Lizard was shocked. the dreams he'd been having, they were true! there were animals around him every night when he went to bed.

that night, Lizard dreamed again that all the animals came out and streamed around him. as he slept, he tried to chase the dream and tried to seize it, but just as he had his mind wrapped around it, he woke up and it was already day. he was sad and angry, but he was also determined to do better.

he thought long and hard. in the early afternoon, the Sun was at its hottest, and Lizard was baking on a rock, kept awake only by the Sun's powerful rays. he began to imagine that the animals were all around him, chatting and talking to each other and running about like they did in his dreams.

slowly, surely, as Lizard dreamed, a huge tree burst forth from the earth. it grew and grew and grew until it was larger than anything any of the animals had ever seen. on the harsh earth, the tree cast a gentle shadow.

the animals poked their noses out of the earth and suddenly they saw that they could play in the shade of the tree. the scuttled out and saw Lizard, at last awake. "Hello, Lizard!" they said. "We are glad that we can talk to you now you are no longer asleep."

Lizard swelled with his new friends around him and he turned once more to the sun. "Thank you, Sun, for creating this tree!"

once more the voice spoke to Lizard. "But Lizard, I didn't create the tree. All you had to do was use your imagination. Every time you dream, a tree will spring forth from the earth."

and so it is to this day.

let us dream together, live and love, imagine, and let the trees grow everywhere.