Once upon a time on a green, well cared for lawn, there grew a weeping willow tree. It was rightfully named because it wept when it was happy and wept when it was sad. It was a lovely tree with some of it's arms hanging down to the ground. It was the only tree on the lawn that had leaves that went away in the fall and left the tree bare.
The tree stood right by a lovely lake and could watch the fishes swim around in the water. Some turtles, on sunny days, would climb up on a log to dry off and be warmed by the sun and on occasion, a snake or two would slither up in the water to smile at the tree.
The other trees, other than the cattails that grew by the lake, were all evergreens and their leaves and needles were always with them, even in winter, so they were never cold.
The weeping willow got very cold when fall came and shivered and wept for the leaves, that had fallen from it branches, to keep it's arms and trunk warm. The other trees felt sorry for it but, they could not cry because they had to uphold the other trees with their branches reaching to the sky.
A little girl named Sarah lived in the house by the lake. Often, she would visit the weeping willow and they would talk and cry.
"Don't cry, my tree," she would say to the willow as she patted it and wiped tears from her face. "You are going to be okay, this winter. I just know you are."
"I do not like to see you cry, so," the willow told Sarah. "Go and visit the other trees. They are cheerful and you are just a little girl who should be happy all the time," he tried to convince her. "God made me this way so I could cry for all the people in the world who are unhappy." A tear fell to the ground.
"I know," Sarah told him, "but, that is the reason I visit you." She tried to explain. "I thought someday I could make you happy and we could laugh together."
"I wish that could be true, too," the willow sighed. "Maybe, some day I will." A weak smile appeared on the willows' trunk.
"Now, that's more like it," Sarah smiled. "Let's play patty cake." So they played patty cake for a few minutes, then, it was time for her to go.
Sarah ran home.
"Mom!" She exclaimed as she ran into the kitchen where her mother was preparing supper.
"Well, my goodness!" Her mother smiled at Sarah. "What does my little girl want?"
"What can we do to make the weeping willow tree happy?" She asked.
"That is a hard question, honey," her mother answered, never expecting such a difficult one.
"Just let me think about it for a while and maybe something will come to mind," she told Sarah. She hugged her. "Run along and wash your hands, dinner is almost ready."
That summer, Sarah and her family tried everything to make the willow happy. Nothing worked. They had picnics by the lake, danced around the tree, played patty cake with it, hugged it and even brought plant food to the tree as a delicacy. Nothing worked. The weeping willow wept.
Fall came. The trees' leaves turned yellow and began falling. Sarah's mother draped as many blankets as she could spare around the tree but it still lost it's leaves.
Then, the snows came. "Come away with us," the head snowman told the willow. "Come to a land where it will be sunny all the time. That is how it is with us when we are not snow."
"I can't," the willow explained. "This is where my roots are and I cannot go with you."
Spring came. Sarah ran every day to see the willow. It was not crying as much now. New baby leaves were sprouting on it's arms and at it's feet, grew another small plant.
Sarah reached down to pick it. "No! No!" The willow exclaimed. "Sarah, please do not hurt it!" Sarah jerked back. She had never seen the willow upset before. Then the willow sobbed.
Sarah patted the willow on the trunk. "I would never do anything to make you cry," she consoled it. "You know that."
"I know you wouldn't," the willow answered. "I did not mean to yell so, but, the plant at my feet is my baby willow." The willow smiled.
The willow smiled! The willow smiled! Sarah ran home. The weeping willow had smiled!
Sarah told her mom about the willow. They ran down to the lake hand in hand. The willow was still smiling.
When Sarah's mom saw the new baby tree, she knew why the willow smiled.
The secret was out. Nothing they could have ever done would have been enough to make the willow smile. Now, it was smiling. Oh, what a happy day for them all!
Sarah knew then why all the other trees' branches reached out and upward to the sky. They were trying to lift the willows' spirits. But, the willow was a tree of it's on, made by God, and there was a reason the willow was made the way it was.
Yes, the willow smiled but that wasn't it's job. It's job was to weep, so it did. There is something somewhere for everyone that will make them happy, no matter how sad they are.
A few years later, the willow died. This made Sarah sad. But, the little willow grew and grew and before she knew it, it had grown into a tree, exactly like it's mother and it cried and Sarah knew it would until it had a tree it could call it's own to make it happy.