The little girl stood at the foot of the giant oak tree which for so many years had stood inaccessible, towering, beckoning at the bottom of the family garden.
For years she had stood like today, looking up at the manifold branches, the heavenly stairway of her dreams, but today was different - she could reach the bottom branch, and so she reached up, tentatively at first, before eagerly grabbing the branch firmly and pulling herself up.
She paused a moment, triumphantly, before she resumed her ascent, branch by branch, finally arriving at the top where she peered through the verdant curtain at her beloved world below and shouted with glee, "Look at me!"
The world however did not notice or applaud any of this, preferring to carry on with more important things like making money and wars.
She sighed and sat down, noticing for the first time the neighbours' cat cowering on the branch besides her, claws embedded firmly in the bark. She stroked the cat who looked up at her hopefully, wondering what all the fuss was about and whether this person was there to feed her.
