It was a chestnut tree, and it appeared to have lived forever. Its roots extended deep into the dry, prairie soil. It was likely to have begun from a nut hidden by a squirrel, and possibly pressed deeper by the feet of a moose, or more likely a deer. The wonderful thing was, though, the tiny nut was planted in dry, sandy soil, its roots were deep and extended into the 'fountains of the deep'. Not even ten feet away there ran a small stream of fresh water.
If there had been an aerial view of the miles of prairie, one could have seen the stream beds, carrying the water, outlined by trees of a number of varieties, and they might also have seen a ten year old girl stretched along one limb.
