My favorite record when I was little was "The Old Elm Tree," a 78 rpm record by the Fairyland Players, Rocking Horse Recordings. My parents encouraged me to listen to it, and I loved it. It made me feel good. For a long time now, the first side of it has been at Archive.org, but that's only half of the story. The rest of it has been lost until now. You can listen to the whole story, both sides, right here. Click on its title, then on the play arrow.
Side 1
GIRL:
Daddy, tell us a story.
FATHER:
All right, children, here's a story about that great old elm tree you see in our front yard. It's a big, strong tree now. In the springtime little birds build their nests there, and the old tree keeps them warm. In the winter the birds fly away and the snow comes softly down from the sky and makes a woolly, white blanket for the old tree, so it can go to sleep. And then, in the spring, it wakes up and turns green again to be all ready for the birds when they fly back home. Yes, it's a strong, old tree now but it was not always so. Long, long ago, it was just a wee, baby elm tree, about your size. When the wind blew at night the tree shook and almost blew away. It was always hungry, and not very strong either. So the birds flew overhead and chattered about the little tree.
BIRD 1:
That baby tree won't last long.
BIRD 2:
The wind'll blow it down.
FATHER:
And the old hickory tree shook his wrinkled branches and said:
HICKORY:
Too bad, too bad, I knew its father when he was a big, strong tree. Too bad.
Side 2
FATHER:
The little tree heard all this and he wanted very much to grow up to be a big tree. He ate everything that was good for him and stayed out in the fresh air all the time. He kept himself nice and clean, and soon he began to grow up to be a strong, young tree. Then, one night, a big storm came. The wind howled and the young tree shook. The little birds were frightened.
BIRDS:
Where shall we go?
FATHER:
The young elm tree opened his arms and said:
ELM TREE:
Fly over here, little birds; I will protect you.
FATHER:
So all the birds flew to our young elm tree and he kept them safe and sound all night long. In the morning, when the storm had gone away and the sun was just rising in the east, the little squirrels and all the birds came and thanked the young elm tree for keeping them so safe. The old hickory tree smiled and said:
HICKORY:
Just like his old father.
FATHER:
And so, children, if you look through the window you'll see that great tree with all the little birds and chipmunks playing on his branches. He is our friend and next time you play under the old tree remember, he was just as tiny as you are but he ate everything that was good for him and he grew up to be the big, strong tree you see now.
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