The Soul of the Ti-Tree (Classic Reprint)

Centuries back, in the ti-tree groves dwelled a fair woodmaiden, slight and graceful of form. To and fro she moved amongst the fairies and pixies and sprites who inhabited the groves, and by all wass he beloved, and to all went out her heart in return. And in the fulness of time the maiden was called to take her place amongst the children of men, and in the world of men she moved, and went hither and thither, and acted her part as a daughter of the world of men; but her heart was ever with her kinsmen of the ti-tree, and ever and anon she returned to them and passed up and down the aisles of the titree by the seashore. And as she passed, the trees, feeling her presence, bent towards her, and would fain have called her back to them and have kept her amongst them, for they loved her. And the maiden, feeling their yearning and their caresses, gave them back love for love, with a love passionate and tender and undying, and the gnarled and twisted trunks were caressed, and held by her, as something sacred and holy. A nd, as time passed, the cry of the trees became stronger and stronger, until at last it could no longer be resisted, and the woodmaiden was fain to obey the call and to return once again to her own people. Regretfully and sadly she went, for amongst the people of the world were those whom she loved, and who had need of her and loved her. But the call of the trees was too urgent, and she went, as her way led, back to the peoples of the tree world. After her departure there were found certain writings, which she had made about the world that is in the midst of the ti-tree, and about the world that is the world of men, and about the world that was in the centre of her own being. These writings, coming from the heart of a woman, true and tender and compassionate, are now made into a book, so that they may be read by those who knew her and Joved her, and
(Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don't occur in the book.)