THE LEGEND OF THE TREE MAN
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He was staring at the tree when he saw a starling perched on a branch. For some reason this cheered Rowan up and he gingerly climbed the lower branches to get nearer to the bird. He was pleased to see that it was an urban, fearless bird and didn't fly away as he approached it. He pulled an acorn off a branch and offered it to the bird. The starling cocked an eye at him:
"What do you want?" said the starling.
Rowan was so surprised to hear the starling talk that he lost his footing and crashed to the ground, breaking both his legs. It seem odd that a man who accepts that his spirit lives in a tree would be so shocked to hear a bird talk, but that's what happened. What reason do I have to lie? (ah, but writers are always liars, and they spend hours selecting just the right black and white photo for the inlay of their novels)
Lying on the wet grass, his legs bleeding, Rowan came to the conclusion that both birds and trees have it easier than human beings, and that when he recovered (it actually took 8 months, it was a complicated break) he would chop the tree down and kill any of the animals that made it their home. Hang the consequences.
And so, when his legs were mended, he chopped down the tree, and was pleased to discover that he didn't die. In fact, quite the contrary, he carried on living.