Uplifting, encouraging, children's story

As the sun dipped behind the distant mountains, the cool shadows clothed Napoleon in chills. He'd lost five leaves today, leaving his longest branches completely bare. Despite being a mighty oak tree, Napoleon felt nothing but sadness. Somewhere in the world of Parch, five people had told lies today. Soon, he'd be completely bare, as so many people had lied over the centuries, that almost all his leaves had fallen. He was known as the Lying Wood, the tree whose leaves fell every time someone lied. The people of Parch had come to fear him, believing that he used to be a man who'd been cursed for lying too much.

Napoleon gazed quietly at his fallen leaves, wondering if he'd ever get them back. A twig snapped in the distance, startling Napoleon out of his stupor. He never got visitors. Not ever. Through the evening fog, a girl appeared, shivering in the cold. She had a backpack on, and a flashlight in her hand, although it was turned off. Napoleon prepared himself for the fear, the anger, the emotions that the girl would surely express. Instead, she gazed up at him curiously. 

"Who are you?" She asked. Her voice didn't waver at all. Napoleon stayed silent for a moment, surprised and grateful.

"I am Napoleon. Who might you be?"

"Penelope." She answered promptly. "Why have your leaves fallen? It's not autumn yet." It wasn't an insult. Napoleon had heard enough of those to know when someone was making fun of him.

"Because someone lied today." He said sadly, studying the girls face. She couldn't have been older than thirteen. "Why are you out here all alone?" He asked. Penelope's eyes dropped.

"My dad." She spat, "He hates me." 

"I'm sure that's not true." Napoleon comforted, "Maybe he ju--"

"No!" She interrupted, "It's because I remind him of Mom! She died a few months ago and. . . Dad hates me now."  As soon as she said it, Napoleon felt the familiar tingling in his branches and watched solemnly as a green leaf twirled from his brown bark. He surprised himself though, as his face cracked the bark into a small smile, the first one all day. 

"You're lying." He said calmly. Penelope's face fell.

"No, I'm not! He really does hate me!" Another leaf fell from Napoleon's branches.

"Yes, you are. Even if you don't realize it." He said, not caring about the leaves anymore. "I'm cursed. Every time someone lies, a leaf falls from my branches. It's my punishment. I was once mortal, like you, but I lied too much. I got into trouble and then lied my way out of it. So, the Witch of Esmont cursed me. Turned me into a tree and said, "Every time someone lies, a leaf will fall from your branches and when you are bare and have no more leaves to clothe yourself with, you shall die." Your father may not be present right now, but he does not hate you." Napoleon looked out to the mountains, which the sun had disappeared behind. Little twinkling lights dotted the mountainside. The town of Esmont.

Penelope was quiet for a few minutes, then said slowly, "You only have three leaves left." 

Napoleon smiled. "I know. I'm okay with that. Living 200 years was more than enough for me." Penelope's eyes filled with tears.

"But. . . but you can't die. You don't deserve it!" She cried. 

Napoleon sighed resignedly. "Even if I wanted to stop the curse, the Witch of Esmont died years ago. I can't reverse the curse." Penelope went silent for a moment before brightening.

"So, you lose your leaves when someone lies, right? What happens when someone tells the truth?"

"I don't know." Napoleon said, wondering where this was going. 

"Well, I might as well try." She said determinedly. After a deep breath, she continued, "I guess my dad doesn't actually hate me. He's just hurting. Maybe it's just easier to be angry instead of sad." She finished, her words ringing in the air. Nothing happened. 

"Now what?" Napoleon asked. Penelope shrugged.

"That was the truth." Then suddenly, a tiny green bud pushed its way out of Napoleon's bark. He gasped in shock. A new leaf unfolded in the night air, followed by three others unfurling from the wood. Penelope laughed through her tears, which were streaming down her face. 

"I guess the witch forgot to mention that part!" 

Napoleon chuckled, the sound creaking warmly through his branches. For the next hour, Penelope told Napoleon all about herself and her family. She told him how her mom had died of a snake bite, how her favorite subject in school was science, and with every truth she told, a new leaf sprouted. Finally, as the new morning rays peeked through the mountains, something extraordinary happened. As Penelope told him about her pet rabbit, Bucky, Napoleon felt a weird tingling all through his trunk and branches. And then, a single leaf sprouted out of the bark, right where his heart would be. And with a flash, Napoleon, the Lying Wood, was transformed. When the light faded, he realized what had happened. He was human again. The same as he'd been when he was cursed by the Witch of Esmont.

He'd regrow all his leaves thanks to Penelope and her truths. Speaking of Penelope, she was standing in shock, staring at Napoleon. 

"How? How did. . . Huh?" She stuttered. Napoleon grinned. 

"The Witch of Esmont works in mysterious ways." And with that, Penelope shrugged her shoulders and led the way back into Esmont. And for the first time in 200 years, Napoleon, the Lying Wood felt something unexpected.

Hope.