34 
THE STORY OR THE OAK TREE 
animal. If you sprained your ankle and were put to bed 
for a week, you would not need as much food as you 
do when you are out rolling snowballs or playing tag. 
The tree needs food for two things: growth, and stor¬ 
age. It is during the Spring and early Summer that the 
leaves do their hardest work, and during those months, 
of course, the tree has its most rapid growth. In the leaf 
kitchen is prepared food for the tree to digest right away, 
and food to store up in the cambium for the nourishment 
of next year’s tender early buds. I think you can see 
why it is so important for the tree to be able to store up 
food. When Winter comes the birds fly south to warm 
countries, bears roll up in their fur and sleep away 
the cold months in some snug cave, but the oak tree 
must stay where its roots have taken hold, no matter 
how fiercely the icy wind may blow. The best way for 
the tree to protect itself is to pass into an inactive, rest¬ 
ing state, to stop growing and go to sleep until the ground 
thaws. To do this it must first store up food to last 
the winter and to be ready, as we have said, for the 
buds when they are stirred to life in the Spring. This 
power to creep within their own well-stocked fortresses 
and hold over winter food for their offspring the open¬ 
ing buds and young roots is the power which keeps the 
race of trees and plants alive from generation to genera¬ 
tion. 
