I was the tallest and straightest and
healthiest spruce on the hill. On one side, I
gazed with wonder at the ocean that smashed
against the boulders far below. I enjoyed the
cries of gulls and terns as they wheeled and
soared with the wind. I welcomed morning
fogs that drifted in from the sea. I swayed
with the thrilling, violent gales that tore
across angry water and up the hillsides.
In the other direction, I looked over green
forests full of deer and bear and elk. A sharp-
eyed eagle sat at my top and scanned the
hillsides; smaller, singing birds raised families
in my lower branches; chipmunks played; rab-
bits chewed on ferns and grasses at my feet. It
was a lovely and peaceful scene, but my soul
was tuned to the drama of the waves and the
powerful wind from across the seas.
The men came from a ship on the ocean.
They clambered up the hill with their tools
and walked around me, measuring my worth.
The man in charge said, “We are lucky.
This giant spruce is the best replacement we
will ever find for the broken mast.”
“Aye, lucky for sure, Captain Harbison,”
they said. Then they attacked me with their
long saws.I REMEMBER THE day the men cut
me down.A Driftwood’s
Ta le
by Shirley Ann Hoskins
34 Illustrated by Gavin Rowe