Painting y Shawn Mc Lean

The drawing pad

An old tree stood in the wood dreaming of becoming writing paper. The tree's name was Frieda and most of all she wished to have love letters written on her. But all around her stood nasty trees pointing at her with their branches saying: "You stupid old tree. You are so wrinkled and odd that they most certainly will make toilet paper out of you."



One day the lumber men arrived and chopped Frieda down. They put her on a truck and drove her to the paper factory. There she was torn to pieces until there was only sawdust left of her. Then they mixed the sawdust with water and chemicals, and boiled her to pulp. Afterwards they rolled her flat under heavy rolls and coiled her up. Frieda still dreamt of becoming writing paper, but she ended up as a drawing pad for children instead.



Frieda was a sad drawing pad and was bought by a sad lady who gave her to her sad daughter. First the daughter painted a yellow house with a happy mother and father. Then she painted the same house, but now the sky was black, the house cold and the father missing. Only the mother and daughter were present, and they looked very sad. Maybe something terrible has happened to her father, Frieda thought, and became even sadder.



In the middle of the night, as Frieda was sleeping on the kitchen table, the light came on and the mother sat down on a chair. She sniffled and opened Frieda. But instead of painting on her, she wrote a letter. Finally I have become writing paper, Frieda rejoiced happily and proudly.

The mother wrote: "Dear husband, I'm so sorry that I was angry with you, and now I'm sad because you became angry at me. Both Frieda and I are sad because you have left us. We hope that you are still a little bit fond of us. When you receive this letter and understand that I'm sorry and regret what I said, I hope you will come back to us again."

While she wrote, her tears dripped on to the paper. When she was finished she dried her eyes and smiled. It was good to have it all written down, she thought, and put the letter in an envelope.

Next day the letter was put in a letter-box. A little later the lid was opened, and a shaking male hand took it out. Frieda realised it must be the sad girl's daddy, and the sad lady's husband. He opened the envelope and read the letter. Then he dried his own tears and read it once more. When he finished the third time he shouted "Hooray," and ran in to his lodgings.

Quickly he packed all his belongings in a bag and ran home to the yellow house where his wife and daughter lived. He held the letter in his hand all the way, and when he arrived Frieda thought the house looked like the first painting. The girl and her mother met him at the gate. There the husband and wife stood hugging each other so long that the girl painted another picture.

On that picture the mother and father stand kissing each other while they hold a love letter, written on Frieda the drawing pad.

© Martin Nygaard