The Sunlight Tree | Ep. 302

Do you have a favorite tree?

Maybe it’s a kind of tree, like a birch or a pine. Perhaps it’s a specific tree, like that old oak you love to climb in the park, or that maple whose crispy leaves you love jumping into after they fall.

Today’s story is all about a very special tree: one that doesn’t shed leaves… it sheds light!

Our tale is called “The Sunlight Tree." It’s inspired by tales from Sweden, a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe.

This episode was the first of two recorded live at Symphony Hall in Boston, Massachusetts. Joining host Rebecca Sheir on stage was a star-studded cast of actors: Mary Faber, Josh Gondelman, Lamont Price and Jessica Rau.

Providing musical accompaniment, under the direction of composer Eric Shimelonis, was a world-class ensemble from the Boston Symphony Orchestra: Cathy Basrak on viola, Rachel Childers on horn, Christopher Elchico on clarinet, Clint Foreman on flute, Ben Levy on double bass, and Suzanne Nelsen on bassoon.

Special thanks to everyone at the BSO, including Chad Smith, Tony Fogg, Mark Rulison, Angie DeSocio, James Campbell, Dana Filloon, Jason Leonhard, Stephen Ponchak, Amy Aldrich, Jason Lyon and Callie Carmosino.

​​This episode was adapted for Circle Round by Rebecca Sheir. It was edited by Dean Russell. Original music and sound design is by Eric Shimelonis. Our artist is Sabina Hahn.

GROWN-UPS! PRINT THIS so everyone can color while listening. We’re also keeping an album so please share your picture on Facebook and Instagram, and tag it with #CircleRoundPodcast. To access all the coloring pages for past episodes click HERE. Our resident artist is Sabina Hahn and you can learn more about her HERE.

Now It’s Your Turn

If you could have a tree that produced something magical, what would it be? Maybe its branches would always be bursting with ice cream cones, or its leaves would be made from picture books!

Find some paper and draw a picture of your tree. Share it with a family member or friend. And then, if you like, share it with us!

Grown-ups: email a photo of your Circle Round fan and their artwork and email it to circleround@wbur.org. With your permission, we may feature it in our Circle Round newsletter, “The Lion’s Roar”! If you haven’t yet signed up for this monthly email full of sneak previews, peeks behind-the-scenes and more, click here!

Script:

NARRATOR: In a quaint wooden hut… atop a quiet wooded hill… there lived two sisters: Selma and Svea.

Selma and Svea shared the hut with their pet bird: a glossy jet-black starling named Lars.

LARS: That’s me! Lars!

NARRATOR: I suppose I should mention: Lars could talk.

LARS: Oh yeah! I LOVE talking! I could talk and talk all day if given the chance!

NARRATOR: I bet you could!

LARS: Thing is, Selma and Svea don’t KNOW that I can talk. I figured it might be kind of weird for them. (to Narrator) So do you mind not saying anything?

NARRATOR: I won’t breathe a word!

LARS: (to audience) And how about YOU? Do YOU mind keeping things on the down-low?

[AUDIENCE RESPONSE]

LARS: Thank you! (beat) I like these people!

NARRATOR: I like them, too! But do you mind piping down, Lars? We need to carry on with the story.

LARS: Oh! No problem. (beat) I DO make a return appearance, right?

NARRATOR: Yes you do! You play a very important part!

LARS: Alright! Then carry on.

NARRATOR: Thanks. So! The wooden hut on the wooded hill was very small… but it was also very bright. Day in and day out, its walls glowed with sunlight – even when skies were cloudy and gray. And do you know why?

LARS: (GASP!) I do! I do!

NARRATOR: Thanks, Lars. But I was talking to the audience. And we need to carry on with the –

LARS: (finishing the sentence) …with the story! Right. Go ahead!

NARRATOR: Thanks. (beat) Where were we?

SELMA: You were saying that our wooden hut on the wooded hill is filled with sunlight!

SVEA: Even when skies are cloudy and gray!

NARRATOR: Ah! Yes! Thank you, Selma and Svea.

SELMA: You’re very welcome.

SVEA: Selma and I would have gotten here earlier but we were down in the village, giving away fruit from our sunlight tree!

SELMA: It’s actually a PEAR tree. Svea and I planted it outside our window when we moved in.

SVEA: And all year round…

SELMA: …no matter the season…

SVEA: …it blossoms and bears fruit!

SELMA: The bright white flowers and golden-yellow pears give off this brilliant light!

SVEA: So it’s like the sun is always shining in our hut!

NARRATOR: And that’s why you call it the “sunlight tree”!

SELMA: Mm-hmm! (beat) Now come along, Lars!

SVEA: We have more pears to give away in the village!

LARS: CAW! (stage-whisper to audience) Remember! They don’t know I can talk! (beat) CAW-CAW! CAW!

NARRATOR: Now! Something you should know about Selma and Svea’s hut… and Selma and Svea’s tree… is that neither actually belonged to Selma and Svea.

The sisters were tenants – or renters – on a grand estate. The woman who owned the estate had recently passed away. She left everything to her son, Wilhelm – including a massive mansion at the bottom of the hill… and all the land surrounding it… including the hill itself.

Wilhelm wasn’t interested in hobnobbing with his mother’s old tenants, so he paid them no attention. But as he heard talk of this mysterious pear tree up the hill, his curiosity piqued.

WILHELM: Could a pear tree really blossom and bear fruit all year long? And give off a glow like the sun? (beat) There’s only one way to find out!

NARRATOR: He jumped on his horse and trotted up the hill. When he laid eyes on the sunlight tree, he nearly fell out of his saddle!

WILHELM: Jumping Jehosaphat! It’s true! The tree is covered with fruit! And the hut is filled with sunshine!

SELMA: Indeed it is, sir!

SVEA: Every day of the year!

NARRATOR: Wilhelm glanced past the tree and saw two women, with a dark, stocky bird fluttering above their heads.

SELMA: You must be Wilhelm! I am Selma.

SVEA: And I am Svea. And this… is Lars.

LARS: CAW!

SELMA: It’s kind of you to pay us a visit!

SVEA: Your mother used to come by all the time. But we’ve never seen you on our hill before!

WILHELM: (snide) I’m sorry – “OUR hill”?????

NARRATOR: Wilhelm’s lips curled into a sneer.

WILHELM: THIS is MY hill! Since I own the estate now, this HILL is MINE! This HUT is MINE! So you know what ELSE is MINE?????

NARRATOR: He reached up and grabbed a pear off a branch.

WILHELM: This TREE is mine! That’s why I am going to TAKE it! (beat) I shall have my gardeners dig it up, bring it down the hill, then plant it outside my window. It’s awfully dark inside my mansion; the hill casts the most dismal shadow. But with this tree outside my window, my entire abode will sparkle like the sun!

NARRATOR: The sisters traded a worried glance.

SELMA: Mister Wilhelm! With all due respect – if you pull this tree from the soil… it will die!

SVEA: Why not take a clipping? And plant that instead?

WILHELM: A clipping??!!!? I don’t want a lousy clipping! I want the whole tree! I DESERVE the whole tree!

SELMA: Then… how about if WE take a clipping?

SVEA: Please…? To keep as a memento…?

LARS: Tweet?

NARRATOR: Figuring it would get the sisters – and their pesky bird – off his back, Wilhelm agreed. The sisters took their clipping. And later that day, a brigade of gardeners armed with shovels and spades trekked up the hill, dug up the tree, and carted it back down on a wagon.

Wilhelm’s mansion was a maze of rooms, each one grander than the next. He had the gardeners plant the tree outside the great hall: a spacious ballroom with bronze chandeliers and giant arched windows that should have filled the space with natural light, if not for the shadow-casting hill.

WILHELM: HOWEVER! With my new sunlight tree growing outside, this hall will be blazing with light! Miraculous, breathtaking light!

NARRATOR: Wilhelm ordered his gardeners to treat the tree with the utmost of care. Thus you can imagine his dismay when, within a matter of days, the tree’s blossoms withered… and fell!

WILHELM: Doggone it!

NARRATOR: Shortly after that, its pears shriveled… and dropped.

WILHELM: Dagnabbit!

NARRATOR: So next thing Wilhelm knew, the once-resplendent tree was bare and brown.

WILHELM: Drat and darnation! The sunlight tree is dead! DEAD!

LARS: No offense, buddy… but you should have seen this coming!

NARRATOR: Wilhelm glanced up. Perched on one of the tree’s lifeless branches was the starling from up the hill.

WILHELM: So! First those vexing sisters have a magic tree…? Now they have a talking bird…? And an awfully RUDE one, at that….? (beat) Why don’t you mind your own business, bird brain?????

LARS: Ha! Look who’s being rude NOW! (beat) I’m just speaking the truth, man! Selma and Svea warned you not to dig up the sunlight tree! And you didn’t listen! (beat) But maybe I shouldn’t be so harsh. After all, thanks to you, we have a whole NEW sunlight tree! (beat) Look!

NARRATOR: Lars extended a wing toward the wooded hill. Filtering through the trees was the most radiant light Wilhelm had ever seen.

LARS: Selma and Svea planted that cutting you left them. And just like that, it sprouted into a tree! A great big beautiful tree! Even brighter than the first! (beat) And you’re calling ME a “bird brain”? (ad-lib LAUGHTER)

NARRATOR: The laughing bird spread his wings and soared up the hill, cackling all the while. Wilhelm was not pleased.

WILHELM: Go ahead, you bird brain! Laugh! Laugh all you want! Because trust me… I will get my revenge! And when I do, you’ll see! (dramatic) The last laugh… will be MINE!!!!

NARRATOR: What will Wilhelm do next? Will he get the revenge he seeks?
We’ll find out what happens, after a quick break.

[BREAK]

NARRATOR: I’m Rebecca Sheir. Welcome back to Circle Round Live at Symphony Hall in Boston, Massachusetts. Today our story is called “The Sunlight Tree.”
Before the break, Selma, Svea, and their pet starling, Lars –

LARS: (cutting in) That’s me! Lars!

NARRATOR: Yes it is! And the second half of the story JUST started, so do you mind taking a little break until you officially enter the scene?

LARS: How soon do I enter?

NARRATOR: Ummmm… (leafs through script) Actually, you enter toward the bottom of this page! So hold on just a sec. (beat) Now. As I was saying… Before the break, Selma, Svea and Lars bid a sad farewell to the sunlight tree. Their landlord, Wilhelm, transplanted the tree to the bottom of the hill, so it could shine its light into his dark, shadowy mansion.

But within days of being moved, the tree died. So Wilhelm turned to Plan B. And next thing the sisters knew, the greedy estate owner was galloping up the wooded hill – with a smug look on his face and a team of builders at his rear.

WILHELM: Selma and Svea! Fancy seeing YOU atop this hill… given that you don’t LIVE here anymore.

NARRATOR: The sisters were confused.

SELMA: What do you mean we don't live here anymore?

SVEA: This is our home!

LARS: CAW!!!

WILHELM: It's not your home anymore! Because I am evicting you! I am kicking you out!

SELMA: But why would you evict us?

SVEA: We’ve been paying our rent!

LARS: CAW!

WILHELM: This isn’t about RENT! It’s about SOIL! (beat) You see… when I re-planted the sunlight tree outside my mansion at the bottom of this hill… it DIED.

SELMA: Oh no!

SVEA: Oh dear!

LARS: (stage-whisper to audience; sarcastic) Duh!

WILHELM: Meanwhile, your NEW sunlight tree is THRIVING. (beat) Just look at it! It’s so bright, I’m getting a tan!

SELMA: Well, it’s definitely flourishing!

SVEA: And it grew so quickly!

WILHELM: Exactly! Clearly the soil at the top of this hill is more suitable for a sunlight tree than the soil at the bottom… Therefore, I shall move up here!

SELMA/SVEA: WHAT???

LARS: CAW???!??

WILHELM: I have ordered my builders to tear down the hut and replace it with a castle. A glorious palace through whose windows this NEW sunlight tree will glow and shine! Lighting up every gilded wall, marble floor, and priceless work of art!

NARRATOR: The sisters felt tears spring to their eyes.

SELMA: Oh please, Mister Wilhelm!

SVEA: Don’t kick us out!

SELMA: You can double our rent!

SVEA: Triple it!

SELMA: Just don’t part us from our hut!

SVEA: Or our beloved tree!

NARRATOR: Wilhelm groaned.

WILHELM: Uch! How many times do I have to tell you??? It is not YOUR hut. It is not YOUR tree. Everything on this hill belongs to ME! Including the hill itself! (beat) So be gone! Lest I send for the constable and have you arrested!

NARRATOR: The sisters gazed sadly at the hut. Then they gazed sadly at each other. Then, without a word, they went to the sunlight tree, wrapped their arms around its trunk, and gave it a loving squeeze.

WILHELM: Oh! So we’re tree-hugging now? Talk about melodramatic! It’s just a tree! You’ll survive! Now get out of here. I have a castle to build!

NARRATOR: Well… when the unfortunate news of Selma and Svea’s eviction spread through the village, everyone stepped forward to help.

The village farmer offered a plot of land in his meadow. The carpenter donated materials for a new hut. Other neighbors came through with clothing, food, and furniture.

Meanwhile, atop the wooded hill, Wilhelm’s team was hard at work on his castle.
When it was finished, he decided to throw a lavish ball. He invited high-ranking members of the nobility and gentry, who came flocking up the hill, dressed to the nines and eager to see the sunlight tree.

WILHELM: Can you believe it, folks? Have you ever beheld such a marvel? Such a miracle? I dare say you haven’t!

NARRATOR: Wilhelm relished his guests’ awestruck expressions. Clearly they were very impressed.

But then… all of a sudden… the expressions on their faces… changed.

One by one, smiles vanished. Brows furrowed. And lower lips began to quiver and shake.

WILHELM: What’s going on, folks? You seem distressed!

NARRATOR: Wilhelm followed his guests’ gazes. And that’s when HIS smile vanished… HIS brow furrowed… and HIS lower lip began to quiver and shake.

And do you know why?

Well… Wilhelm had built his castle atop the wooded hill, right? So it was surrounded by all kinds of trees: maples, pines, oaks… And before his and his guest's very eyes, every single one of those maples, pines and oaks gathered up their branches and stretched them to either side – as if each tree had sprouted two mighty wings. The sunlight tree did the same. And then, wouldn’t you know it, all of those mighty, leafy wings… began to flap!

They flapped and they flapped… picking up momentum and speed… until every tree broke free from the earth and lifted into the air!

LARS: Nicely done, friends! Not bad for your first flight!

NARRATOR: Wilhelm looked up and there was that pesky starling, hovering in front of the trees as if leading an army.

LARS: Alright, friends! Now forwaaaaard… FLY!

NARRATOR: Lars lowered his head and began to swoop and dive. The trees followed suit, whizzing around in great loops and arcs. They moved closer and closer to the castle… crowding over the windows and walls… until the entire place went dark.

The party guests panicked, stumbling all over each other as they scrambled for a way out.

WILHELM: Wait! Don’t leave! STAY!

NARRATOR: But staying was the last thing anyone wished to do. And as they bolted for the door, do you know what happened?

The trees lifted away! All at once! Clearing the way so that everyone could get out!

Wilhelm tried to follow. But before he reached the exit, the trees crowded back in again… and he was trapped in the shadows.

WILHELM: What have I done? What have I done?

LARS: You’ve made a big old mess! That’s what you’ve done!

NARRATOR: Wilhelm gazed upwards. And there, flying in circles in the dark, was the starling.

LARS: You could have left Selma and Svea alone! You could have let them enjoy their sunlight tree! Instead you were all MINE MINE MINE! ME ME ME! (beat) Maybe NEXT time, you won’t be such a BIRD BRAIN!

NARRATOR: Lars fluttered to the window and gave it a tap. And just like that, the trees backed away. They floated into the air and glided back to their original spots on the hill. Then they settled back down, dug in their roots, and stood tall and proud, just like before.

But one tree did not return to its original place. Any guess which one?

[AUDIENCE GUESSES]

NARRATOR: That’s right! The sunlight tree lifted up into the air, higher and higher, before gliding away from the wooded hill.

The tree drifted… and floated… and when it reached Selma and Svea’s new hut, it lowered down to earth and plunged its roots into the soil.

And there it stood… back with its kind and rightful owners… filling their home – and their hearts — with light.