The Oak Tree Economy: Chapter 1 - Draft Sneak Peak For B. A. Steele's New Fable Satire

Once upon a peculiar world, there was a large span of land that was separated into three main sections. 

First, was a small forest where many plants, animals, and fungi thrived naturally under compact trees.

It was an impressive working ecosystem that had been cycling this same way for the last millennia. 

The other ecosystem was the human infested one, complete with its own suburbs and city! The forest used to take up most of the landscape, but that shrunk as the humans grew less satisfied in their own environment. So, without much pushback from the animals, down went the trees, nests, and burrows. 

This forced migration made the human's ecosystem the largest of the divided lands. Over a century, they had built their own lifestyles on top of the forest's ruins. Now, they had their own factories, a downtown, and many tall buildings to fit all their employees. 

The smallest ecosystem of the three was in between the forest and town. It was a wide, open field where only one Oak Tree thrived in the center, and the rest was grass. 

The Oak Tree was massive and harbored a small animal community of its own. It was more cooperative than the forest, but much simpler than the human's society. The birds, bees, and rodents all helped to keep a look out for predators, instead of just looking out for oneself. This cooperation made sure no animal was intentionally sacrificed and kept them all vigilant for the good of others too, not just themselves. 

This idea originated from the eldest bird who had been in the tree the longest. He was a great-horned owl named George. George Owl was much bigger than all the prey in the tree except for the turkey vulture that kept to himself at the top unless - there was something for him to scavenge out in the field.

For generations, the Oak Tree welcomed other animals to live or just take refuge for a while. Owl would help fend off any predator that was spotted within a 100-foot radius of the tree which solidified their trust.

Owl also happened to be the only predator living there, but no one feared him as a threat. In fact, the small animals looked up to George Owl as their respected leader willingly. It made them feel like the luckiest prey around compared to the ruthlessness of the forest. 

Every day, the birds and squirrels would announce Owl's arrival and departure so they could all get time to hear any announcements he had. Sometimes Owl would go on about baby-birdhood or wise advice for surviving his nightly hunts.

For those little souls, the Oak Tree's placement made it the safest space within 500 feet in all directions. The open field gave them plenty to eat around the tree while watching for incoming predators. 

Every once in a while, a hunter would try to catch them off guard soaking in the sun. The most recent time being last summer when a coyote crept in the field's grass until it was too obvious for the Oak Tree neighbors not to notice.

"COYOTE" Jeffery Sparrow, the smallest and most stubborn soul in the tree, chirped as loud as he could. His warning triggered the predator to sprint. In an instant, the group of prey were darting towards the Oak Tree for dear life.

The birds took to the sky, so there weren't many choices left for the hunter to choose from. Diana would be the easiest, so he locked his eyes onto her bushy tail. 

Diana, a squirrel, was pregnant with her 3rd kid, so she was the slowest unfortunately.  "David, you must keep ahead of me to make sure you are there for the others! Leave me!" She was much farther behind than anyone else, and the predator was closing the gap between them. 

As much as David didn't want to, he knew this was their original plan in case of danger. The future of their offspring surviving was always their main goal. 

"Help us! Please!" 

"A Coyote!" 

Sammy Squirrel and Jeff Sparrow made it back to the tree first and were shouting for Owl's help. All the commotion awoke Owl from his nest in the center knot of the Oak Tree's trunk.

The giant bird extended his wings and swiftly flew from the Oak Tree. As fast as he could fly, Owl aimed directly for the coyote's head.

The predator was so close to reaching its lunch, but Owl soared at the coyote with his talons drawn. The contact between both predators knocked each other off balance, but Owl majestically flew above the coyote while he fumbled into the ground.

"How dare you interrupt my hunt!" The coyote snapped at the owl with new blood oozing from his furry snout. 

"This is my turf for hunting! And those in this Oak Tree are not for you to eat without my wrath!" Owl defended. 

The coyote was very angry, and still hungry. But it wasn't worth wasting his energy to fight without a guaranteed meal. The predator turned back to the forest and walked defeatedly, allowing Owl to head back to his home.

Upon his return, the Oak Tree animals welcomed Owl back in so much appreciation and gratitude - except for Jeff Sparrow. He didn't like to see praise that wasn't for him. Even though he would be less safe without Owl's protection, Jeff would often downplay Owl's duty. 

The little sparrow argued that it was the Owl's job to protect. "I would do the same thing too if I were just as big! Maybe even better!" This bitterness happened to be the nature of the sparrow - it was that short temper of theirs that kept them alive for generations inside the lonesome, competitive landscape.

But George Owl still thanked them for their kind words and acknowledged Jeff's comments with understanding. "And I am happy to always do my job well for us all! Whether I receive thankfulness or not. This is because, it helps all of us remain alive longer when we work together."

And the prey would cheer in their leader's response, except of course for Jeff Sparrow. They looked up to Owl and asked him to tell stories of his past whenever he was awake or would comment nice things about him while he slept. 

This common disturbance was disguised as concern, but it was really the jealousy he felt inside. And still, the rest of the tree accepted Jeff as he was since he couldn't do much harm otherwise. 

They looked up to Owl and asked him to tell stories of his past whenever he was awake or would comment nice things about him while he slept. The praise Owl received only filled him with joy and encouragement to continue being the fairest leader - especially being the largest and potentially dangerous in the tree.

Sammy Squirrel went on and on about Owl's smartness and even joked about it, "If only George could figure out where we hide all our acorns in the winter, we wouldn't have any problems left around here!" the other squirrels would laugh and agree - because they too could relate to losing their acorns every year.

Last fall when Owl saved The Warblers from being strangled by a snake, they were endlessly thankful for his bravery. It was a fiasco the Oak Tree celebrated for days because they couldn't help imagining if it were them being trapped by the snake - especially on their own in the forest! Until Jeff was fed up! "It's not that impressive! This was no challenge for George Owl, and he got a free meal out of the rescue!"

The patterns remained the same.

The community defended their honorable predator, and Jeff always had a counterargument to end the celebration early. 

Most recently, after returning back north from the cold season, the birds were getting settled back into their old spots from last year. Owl and the squirrels always remained in their same nests throughout the year, so they needed enough insulation and storage room for hibernation. 

However, Jeff pointed out things felt unfair still. "Why do all of us have these tiny nests compared to George's" Jeff said to the birds around him. All the squirrels lived below Owl's knot in the tree, so they weren't around to hear them squawking. "Why does he get to have the biggest nest?

"Hmm, I never thought about that before. I guess I don't want to keep building after it works good enough." Crow mentioned.   

Mrs. Warbler pointed out, "The squirrels have large nests too, I don't think it's just a big bird thing."

"Wonderful question!" Owl popped out of his nest to answer the birds. "We build nests relative to our needs. My nest is the right size for me! Your nest is the right size for you." Owl explained. A few squirrels noticed he was out of his nest and awake. So, they began crawling up the trunk to greet all the birds too.

That's when a squirrel interjected with her thoughts, "Actually, our nests are smaller than Owl's too. I think maybe we should make ours bigger too!" Francine spoke for her fellow squirrels, and they nodded in approval. 

"Ooh, that's a fun change, I think I will too!" said Larry Finch, a finch who was just as tall as Jeff but wider because of his stoutness.

"Wait, hang on." Jeff Sparrow didn't want others to have nests as big as his either...he was only referring to himself...

"My feathered friends, why do you long for extra empty space?" Owl interrupted, "In all of my years of living here, I've never heard of anyone complaining of their nests being insufficient in size. Where is this need stemming from?" 

"Oh no! Is it extreme weather you are sensing, Jeffery?! Is the end near!?" Sammy the squirrel panicked at his quick conclusion. 

Jeffery grew angrier with the conversation getting out of control. "Never mind all this! I'm going to build a bigger nest just because I can and I want to. If you want to copy me, then fine!" 

"It's not a bad question to ask when he have a safe space to build onto, however, nature's ecosystems are always delicate when it comes to balance. We should perhaps be cautious of what can happen if we all want larger homes on this Oak Tree." Owl warned as he always liked to be ahead of any problems. 

"You don't know everything!" Jeff flew out of the social gathering and up to the tallest point of the Oak Tree. 

He landed on the tip of a branch that was beginning to bud thanks to the spring rain they've been having. He sighed while looking at the wide landscape.  

He faced south and observed the forest far ahead of him. And then he flipped his body to gaze at the human's large buildings that he considered to be their oversized nests. 

For the animals in the forest and Oak Tree, the human's ecosystem was a marvel to look at from afar - but they liked to keep to what they knew in their own spaces. Only the birds had the privilege to fly around the ecosystems but rarely did out of those same fears of being in the unknown.

"What are you doing by my nest, get out of here little bird." Interrupting Jeff's thoughts was William Turkey Vulture. His nest was at the highest point of the tree, and the sparrow was planted on a branch across from it. 

"Quiet, long neck. I'm far enough away." Jeff argued. "It's a free Oak Tree!"

"And what makes you think I won't eat you since my long neck makes it easier reach?"

"Because I haven't been rotting for two days yet, you wouldn't like the taste." Jeff said and the two birds glared in angry silence. 

But then it broke with hardy laughter between the two. 

"Oh Jeff Sparrow, how funny you are to me compared to those other silly birds who are so friendly for no reason." William Turkey Vulture said. 

"Exhausting. I know. Is that why you stay up here?"

"Hmm, now you see why I enjoy being alone." 

"Why don't you move to the forest or scavenge on the outskirts of the human's territory?" Jeff asked.

"Probably the same reason why you stay here even though you hate it so much." William Turkey Vulture said. 

And so, Jeff thought about why he hates it here so much but never left. He was aware of the bigger challenge surviving would be without his friendly community in the Oak Tree. 

Without the Oak Tree's special location and community, Jeff wouldn't get to complain all the time. He'd have to be fending and fighting for himself out in the woods. That was something he was born into and happy to escape by the time he learned how to fly. 

The small life cycle happening inside the Oak Tree had plenty of room and food for every one of them to live healthy life in nature together. Like every animal living on the planet, the Oak Tree's residents were just trying to survive the next day, season, year, etc. on account of their instincts.

Satire Oak Tree Economy and The Great Poisin Era Screenshot from WattPad

The Oak Tree Economy will be completed and published in 2026.

Blog Home