Home > Fiction > FF – Tree Man

FF – Tree Man

Here is my story for Friday Fictioneers, hosted by Rochelle. This week’s photo was contributed by Sandra Crook.

In the following story, names have been changed to protect any real (or imagined) businesses who may or may not be good/bad/indifferent to the environment 🙂

Copyright Sandra Crook

Tired, the man sat on the trunk, not noticing the peeling bark, the mottling on the wood. The stump was diseased.

Spores penetrated his skin. His arms, his legs, his whole body was growing bark, leaves!

He was becoming… Tree Man!

He would become an eco-warrior without equal!

“What happened Dad, what happened?”

“Well, son, just as he began his eco-campaign someone chopped him down to build a MacDoonald’s.”

“Aw, Daaaadddd!”

“Go to sleep, son. And remember my words.”

Years later, the son became one of the world’s premier climate change campaigners. Until someone unfortunately bulldozed him over to build a Burrgerr King.

  1. July 7, 2021 at 1:30 pm

    Don’t worry. The hurricanes will blow away the burger joints

    Liked by 1 person

    • July 8, 2021 at 6:43 am

      Woohoo! That’s an… um… relief 😮

      Like

  2. July 7, 2021 at 2:18 pm

    We mean well. We’d love to save the planet…but other things just come first.

    Actually, I thought about the ecology just yesterday. As I was stuffing wet wash in the dryer, I recalled Grandma pegging out the sheets on her wind and solar-powered clothesline. Thank goodness for dryers. 😉

    Like

    • July 8, 2021 at 6:46 am

      Yes. They use tons of electricity, but with all the rain around here I’d never get anything dry without mine 🙂

      Like

  3. July 7, 2021 at 2:34 pm

    Oh that’s such a tragic story. Maybe one day they’ll gang up and revolt against us

    Like

    • July 8, 2021 at 6:47 am

      Some sort of Triffid tree situation perhaps 🙂

      Like

  4. July 7, 2021 at 3:17 pm

    Ah, Macdonalds the scum of the earth – well one of them at least! A very creative story well done.

    Like

  5. July 7, 2021 at 4:30 pm

    Dear Ali,

    I’d like to bulldoze MacDonald’s myself. Burger King runs a close second.

    Shalom,

    Rochelle

    Like

    • July 8, 2021 at 6:52 am

      Dear Rochelle,
      I don’t know what these places put in the burgers, but if I have one at a motorway service station, half a mile down the road I’m suddenly craving another one…
      Ali

      Like

  6. July 7, 2021 at 4:32 pm

    Hopefully, the son had a son to take revenge on Bugga King.

    Like

  7. July 7, 2021 at 4:42 pm

    Treebeard shall have the ultimate revenge!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Lyn
      July 8, 2021 at 12:19 am

      Gotta love Treebeard!

      Liked by 2 people

    • July 8, 2021 at 6:58 am

      There’s no stopping him and his mates, even if you’re a master magician with an army behind you 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  8. July 7, 2021 at 5:40 pm

    The lot of the burger joints should be razed. Well done, you!

    Like

  9. July 7, 2021 at 5:52 pm

    More truth than fiction. Nothing and no one shall stand in the way of progress. Imagining the last human on the planet standing in a wasteland and still screaming it.

    Like

    • July 8, 2021 at 7:00 am

      At least they’ll have a good choice of burgers to see out the end of the world with.

      Liked by 1 person

  10. Lyn
    July 8, 2021 at 12:27 am

    Great take on the picture, Ali. Not your usual blood thirsty post … oh wait … yes, a guy got himself killed by a bulldozer 😀
    Don’t have Burger King here in Oz – it’s called Hungry Jacks and it beats Maccas hands down. But I’d still blow up all of them. There is one place worth visiting and that’s World Burger. Their burgers are about 6 inches high and would feed a family of 4 for a whole day.

    Like

    • July 8, 2021 at 7:03 am

      We have some non-chain places (usually pubs) which serve amazing burgers 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  11. July 8, 2021 at 7:38 am

    Whew! You had me worried for a bit there. I sure hope the next hero in line was razed to build a KCF. I’m craving some chicken…

    Like

    • July 8, 2021 at 12:41 pm

      Me too, Kenrucky Freed Chucken gets a free pass…

      Like

  12. July 8, 2021 at 10:01 am

    Never been in a MacDonalds or a Burger King. I aim to keep it that way. Nice story.

    Like

  13. July 8, 2021 at 4:42 pm

    if that’s called progress, i don’t know, but many climate deniers seem to agree. 🙂

    Like

  14. July 8, 2021 at 7:38 pm

    My bad… I read that title wrong… I thought it said “Three men and a stump”… guess it was that commercial for “Two Men and a Truck” moving services playing in the background. Great story… I’m sure that Treeman, aka, the son, had quite a few adventures along the way to the “King”.

    Like

    • July 9, 2021 at 6:32 am

      Yes, having become so prominent he must have created quite a few waves on his journey 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  15. July 8, 2021 at 7:43 pm

    What next, KFC, would you believe it?

    Like

    • July 9, 2021 at 6:38 am

      They’re all at it (possibly and allegedly).

      Like

  16. July 9, 2021 at 12:42 pm

    I really have no idea which companies you’re talking about. Sad, true bedtime story,

    Like

  17. July 9, 2021 at 5:19 pm

    Too bad. We don’t need any more McDoonalds or Buggerr Kings 🙂

    Like

  18. July 9, 2021 at 9:35 pm

    Oh, burrgerr! Why is it always the good guys who get bulldozered?

    Like

    • July 10, 2021 at 4:24 am

      They’re the ones who put themselves in harm’s way 😦

      Like

  19. Michael Humphris
    July 9, 2021 at 11:05 pm

    A sad ending, till the bulldozers have an Ai implant, then they may turn on the anti nature brigade

    Like

    • July 10, 2021 at 4:24 am

      Ha, yes, once they begin to think for themselves…

      Like

  20. July 10, 2021 at 12:33 am

    There’s something about that family … 😉 But, yeah, if there are any other family members left, please do just watch out for Wendeeeee

    Like

  21. July 10, 2021 at 4:05 am

    Tree man, now there is a super hero! Nemesis – MacDs!

    Like

  22. July 12, 2021 at 12:50 pm

    I like the brisk tone and the mash up between bed-time story and real life ! Good story.

    Like

  23. July 12, 2021 at 12:56 pm

    Ali,
    Maybe it’s time for Petrified Tree Man to make an appearance. 🤔
    pax,
    dora

    Like

  24. July 13, 2021 at 2:03 am

    Hmm… Well disguised names. I’m going to guess at MacFrugal’s and Bugger King.

    Like

  25. July 13, 2021 at 8:19 am

    It’s a good thing names were changed to make them unrecognizable. 😁

    Like

    • July 15, 2021 at 7:08 am

      Indeed, I wouldn’t want to fall foul of any legal personages 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  26. July 13, 2021 at 12:45 pm

    That’s very noble of him to be sacrificed for the cause. I do love a good KenChuky’s Friday Chicken.

    Like

    • July 15, 2021 at 7:09 am

      That KenChuky’s is the best 🙂

      Like

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