The Year Money Grew on Trees by Aaron Hawkins Read Free Book Online Page B

tree while Michael was throwing dirt clods at its trunk. The apple book was lying in some mud along with my mom's clippers.
    I picked up the book and looked at everyone. "Okay, according to this, if we want a good crop of apples, we
have to cut off some of the branches before the leaves and apples start growing on them."
    "That sounds stupid. If we cut off the branches, won't there be less places for apples to grow?" Michael asked confrontationally.
    "Yeah, but the book says the ones that do grow will be bigger. The trees will spend more energy growing apples and less time feeding all the branches or something."
    I turned to the pages in the book on pruning that illustrated the kind of spacing between branches that was just right. Amy, Michael, and I began debating how many branches to take off the first tree and where to start cutting. We each tried the pruning scissors and found that with just a little force they could cut off branches as thick as our fingers. We were deep in discussion about how to reach the highest branches when we heard a sawing noise. Sam had run home and gotten the saw his dad usually only used for cutting down Christmas trees. Before we could stop him, a huge branch just a few feet off the ground was cut through and fell with a
thunk.
    "I'm not sure that's really the idea, Sam. We probably want to leave most of the big branches," I said, gaping at the branch on the ground.
    "Yeah, okay. But at least we know this saw works pretty well," he replied with enthusiasm.
    It was decided that Sam would climb each tree and
cut the thicker branches near the trunk using his saw. Amy and I would use the ladders and pruning scissors and attack the outer branches. Michael was given the clippers and told to work on the smaller branches near the ground or those he could reach standing on the first few steps of our ladders. He of course wanted one of the larger pruning tools, but after putting it to a vote, he had to settle for the clippers.
    We swarmed the first tree. I made my first few cuts nervously. Every few minutes Amy and I would call to each other, "How does that look?" or, "Does this look right?" We climbed up and down the ladders consulting the book's illustrations.
    Sam and Michael never questioned their own work. From the middle of the tree and over our heads, large branches were continually dropping under Sam's saw. I was beginning to worry if there would be anything left to the tree if he kept it up. The bottom branches were also suffering, although the clippers really limited the size of branches Michael could destroy.
    After what seemed like an hour, Amy and I had worked our way around the outside of the tree moving our ladders four or five times. I was just about to say, "Okay, let's all get down and have a look," when there was a crashing of branches to my left followed by a thud.
    Sam had fallen out of the tree and lay face-down on the cold dirt. The rest of us stared at him, stunned. He
got to his feet slowly, panting, and said, "Well, the middle's all done."
    We stood back and examined the tree while looking at the book for comparison.
    "It looks terrible!" Michael blurted out. "And it's freezing."
    "Who asked you?" said Amy turning on him angrily. "Look, it's supposed to look bad when it's just bare branches. And you two boys have to stop cutting off so much. It's almost like the whole middle and bottom are gone."

    I agreed with her but was glad that she was the one saying it.
    "Now, let's try again on the next one and be more careful," she demanded.

    As she spoke, I noticed that I could see her breath because it was so cold. I also realized that my ears were freezing. I looked down at my hands, and they were bright red. I really wanted to stick them in my pockets but instead grabbed my ladder and moved it to the next tree. Out of the four of us, Amy was the only one wearing a hat and gloves. We kept working for probably
another half hour. Although we seemed to be getting faster, it was also