Into a great tree a small worm did go

It wormed its way inwards and soon it did grow

The tree was unhappy but what could it do?

It stood there in silence: the worm grew and grew

The tree was unhappy but what could it say

The worm kept on growing the tree sank away

The worm was so greedy it ate more each day

And each day it ate more the tree shrank away

The worm was so loathsome it felt no disgrace

The birds had been silenced the sun shunned that place

And all of the forest grew fearful to see

What terrible fate lay in store for the tree

The worm grew so monstrous its greed knew no bounds

The smell was so awful if poisoned the ground

And all of the creatures that lived in the wood

Were sickened and starving the worm spoiled their food

The birds would not sing and the sun could not shine

The forest lay dirty and blackened with grime

Now down in the forest a young man went riding

He passed by the great tree and saw it was dying

The leaves and the bark were all rotten and rife

The tree had been poisoned and drained for its life

He stripped of a piece of the bark of the tree

And straight'way he know what the right cure should be

The man built a fire and chopped down the tree

The worm started screaming it could not break free

It trashed and it lashed but it could net break loose

Trapped in that tree like a thief in a noose

The worm burst asunder a vile smelling crust

He hacked it to pieces and burnt it to dust

The forest seemed clearer and peacful at last

Like after a storm when the rainclouds have passed

And although the great tree was fallen and dead

They knew from the ashes a new life would spread

Yes although the great tree had fallen and died

They knew from the ashes a new one would thrive

Now years may have passed since the tale I have told

Yet the truth of this story does still seem to hold

Although from a great tree a small worm may grow

That eats it with poison and tortures its soul

The worm can be killed yet the tree be not dead

For from the roots of the elder a new life will spread