How the Trees Became Inanimate Objects-A Pourquoi Tale

Once, when the earth was new, the
gods created trees. These trees, however, were not like the trees that we are accustomed to. These trees could speak and move, and they were capable of living on their own in complex cities. They could live for thousands of years, these trees, and they were considered to be the wisest things on Earth. In fact, they still are. They just can't prove it anymore.
In each of their opulent metropolises, a
leader was elected by popular vote, not unlike our presidents. This Elder Tree had the power to learn all of the secrets of the universe and share them with the others if they so desired. While most of the Elder Trees spread their great knowledge truthfully and with abundance, one did not. It was the Elder of the mighty Redwoods, and he didn't want to rule just one city. He wanted to rule them all.
In order to mislead his citizens, Elder
Redwood spread words of hate and violence under the guise of universal truths. He told them that the Sycamores of the east and the Maples of the north had allied themselves against the Redwoods, and they were bound to attack at any moment.
"If we strike first, however," he claimed,"
we can squash them like bugs! That will teach them to rebel against the mighty Redwoods!"
Of course, the other Redwoods believed
him because he was their leader and a leader would never lie to his clan.
The Redwood army immediately began
to plan their counter-attack against the imaginary army that was making their imaginary march into Redwood territory as they spoke. They made their decision swiftly: find the allied forces, slaughter anyone who showed any signs of dissent, and enslave the rest.
However, the gods caught wind of this
plan, and they were angry. They didn't like the idea of any free destroying the peace that they had worked so hard to maintain. If one tree was able to create discord with the power that he was given, then what was going to stop other trees from doing the same thing? So the Earth Goddess flew down from the heavens, right into the Redwoods' city.
"Elder Redwood," said she, ignoring the
trees that fell to their knees in her presence, "I have come to put an end to your foolish attack. You know fully well that the Maples of the north and the Sycamores of the east have not combined their forces to attack your village. You only told this lie because you are greedy and you wish to take the other cities for yourself. This I know for a fact, for I am all seeing and all knowing. For your attempted crimes, you must be punished."
The Earth Goddess cast her spell on
Elder Redwood. His feet began to sink into the soil, sprouting roots deep into the ground. His bark grew across his face until his mouth and eyes could move no more.
The other trees, ashamed that they had
believed such foolish lies, agreed to follow their Elder into eternal darkness. Still, with the immediate threat gone, the goddess was not satisfied. She traveled to other cities, spreading her curse to all trees across the world just in case another Elder formulated any similar ideas.
The lively tree cities became ghost
towns, which we came to call forests. The trees can still hear and feel and think, but they never walked or spoke again. That is how the trees became inanimate, albeit sentient, beings.