A woodsman named Guillaume whose hut was not far from Breeches Lake needed to cut a big tree to make some furniture for his hut, where he was living with his wife.
He saw a very healthy White Birch and he was ready to use his ax on the beautiful tree when he heard a voice:
“ Please let me live!. I am still young and have a good number of saplings behind me who will greatly suffer if I am not here”,
The man took pity on the Birch and went to a Red Maple which looked healthy , straight and strong. He was ready to use his ax when the maple spoke in human voice:
“ Please let me live! My saplings are still young and need my support. They will not survive without me. My sap is also used by the locals to cure many diseases” The woodsman felt compassion for the beautiful maple tree and moved on.
He then saw a Beech, very straight and tall of at least 20 m. He was happy about his finding as beech wood is hard, with few knots and excellent for cabinet making. When he was ready to strike with his ax, the beech spoke to him:
“ Please do not kill me! I am only 20 years old and I am in my prime” The man felt sorry for the Beech tree and moved on to other trees.
The woodsman had promised his wife that he would find a good mature tree that would allow him to cut the wood required to build a much needed clothing chest of drawers.
After much wandering around the forest, he managed to see a huge old oak standing in an open area where a small grobe of smaller oak saplings were growing. The tree was magnificent, it had at least 30 m. in height and its diameter was no less than 1.2 m. Some of the branches were so big that were hanging close to the ground. The bark was dark and rugous. The ground was covered with hundreds of akorns, many already eaten by squirrels, skunks and beavers.
