All Sources Back to catalog Fairytalez Open source Ririro Open source Grimm CMU Open source

Ririro · Kids Books

The Diligent Tree

kids-books--the-diligent-tree

Source URL https://ririro.com/kids-books/the-diligent-tree/

Review Status Pending

Original Rule Cleanup Compare Original vs Rule Cleanup

Original

Displayed from body

The Diligent Tree

Now we have learned three things about plants, and especially about leaves. We have learned—

They perspire when the water passes through the leaf mouths into the air.

They eat when Leaf Green and Sunbeam together manage to take the carbon out of the carbonic-acid gas which has made its entrance through the leaf mouth and the cell wall. They drink when the roots suck in water and earth broth.

They breathe when the leaf mouths take from the air the oxygen, and give back to it carbonic-acid gas.

The veins and veinlets, of which you see so many running through a leaf, act in something the same way as the water pipes of a city; for through these veins the watery food, the earth broth, is carried to the different cells.

When one knows all that we know even now about a plant, one looks at a tree covered with leaves with a good deal of admiration.

Just think of what is being done inside that quiet-looking tree! Think of the millions of cells that go to make it up, each cell having its own work to do! Think of the immense amount of business being carried on within the trunk, inside the branches, and especially in each green leaf! And when you have the chance, notice how hard each leaf tries to get just as much sun and air as it possibly can.

In the first place, the thin, flat leaf blades are so spread out that every part is exposed to the light and air.

Then notice how the leaves are placed in reference to one another.

Almost every single one is fastened to the tree so as to get its fair share of sunshine.

When you think of the many thousands of leaves borne by one tree, it astonishes you to see how seldom one leaf gets in another’s light.

And the shapes of leaves are always suited to their arrangement on the tree.

If you should take the leaves of a chestnut tree and replace them by the leaves of a maple, you would find the maple leaves all getting in each other’s way, or else you would see that they were taking up a great deal more room than necessary.

But when a leaf is studied on its own tree, one sees that its shape is the very best that could be imagined for its position.

And in the smaller plants we notice this same thing.

And when you remember that Leaf Green cannot feed the plant unless Sunbeam comes to her assistance, you realize how necessary it is that each leaf be within the reach of Sunbeam’s visits.

Mrs. William Starr Dana was a late 19th-century American nature writer best known for making botany accessible and engaging to everyday readers. Her landmark work How to Know the Wildflowers (1893) brought plant science to a wide popular audience, and The Diligent Tree reflects that same gift for turning scientific observation into genuine storytelling wonder.

Now we have learned three things about plants, and especially about leaves. We have learned—

They perspire when the water passes through the leaf mouths into the air.

They eat when Leaf Green and Sunbeam together manage to take the carbon out of the carbonic-acid gas which has made its entrance through the leaf mouth and the cell wall. They drink when the roots suck in water and earth broth.

They breathe when the leaf mouths take from the air the oxygen, and give back to it carbonic-acid gas.

The veins and veinlets, of which you see so many running through a leaf, act in something the same way as the water pipes of a city; for through these veins the watery food, the earth broth, is carried to the different cells.

When one knows all that we know even now about a plant, one looks at a tree covered with leaves with a good deal of admiration.

Just think of what is being done inside that quiet-looking tree! Think of the millions of cells that go to make it up, each cell having its own work to do! Think of the immense amount of business being carried on within the trunk, inside the branches, and especially in each green leaf! And when you have the chance, notice how hard each leaf tries to get just as much sun and air as it possibly can.

In the first place, the thin, flat leaf blades are so spread out that every part is exposed to the light and air.

Then notice how the leaves are placed in reference to one another.

Almost every single one is fastened to the tree so as to get its fair share of sunshine.

When you think of the many thousands of leaves borne by one tree, it astonishes you to see how seldom one leaf gets in another’s light.

And the shapes of leaves are always suited to their arrangement on the tree.

If you should take the leaves of a chestnut tree and replace them by the leaves of a maple, you would find the maple leaves all getting in each other’s way, or else you would see that they were taking up a great deal more room than necessary.

But when a leaf is studied on its own tree, one sees that its shape is the very best that could be imagined for its position.

And in the smaller plants we notice this same thing.

And when you remember that Leaf Green cannot feed the plant unless Sunbeam comes to her assistance, you realize how necessary it is that each leaf be within the reach of Sunbeam’s visits.

Mrs. William Starr Dana was a late 19th-century American nature writer best known for making botany accessible and engaging to everyday readers. Her landmark work How to Know the Wildflowers (1893) brought plant science to a wide popular audience, and The Diligent Tree reflects that same gift for turning scientific observation into genuine storytelling wonder.

Raw JSON

{
  "kind": "story",
  "canonical_url": "https://ririro.com/kids-books/the-diligent-tree/",
  "slug": "the-diligent-tree",
  "story_dirname": "kids-books--the-diligent-tree",
  "section_slug": "kids-books",
  "title": "The Diligent Tree",
  "author": null,
  "publisher_label": "Ririro",
  "source_version": "unknown",
  "content_type": "chapter_book",
  "language": "en",
  "summary": "The Diligent Tree is a short nonfiction piece that draws readers into the hidden, bustling world inside a leafy tree. Through vivid detail, Mrs. William Starr Dana reveals how millions of leaf cells breathe, perspire, and feed — each one positioned with quiet precision so that Leaf Green and Sunbeam can work together. The piece builds a genuine sense of wonder as it challenges you to look at an ordinary tree and see the extraordinary labour happening within every branch and blade.",
  "body": [
    "Now we have learned three things about plants, and especially about leaves. We have learned—",
    "They perspire when the water passes through the leaf mouths into the air.",
    "They eat when Leaf Green and Sunbeam together manage to take the carbon out of the carbonic-acid gas which has made its entrance through the leaf mouth and the cell wall. They drink when the roots suck in water and earth broth.",
    "They breathe when the leaf mouths take from the air the oxygen, and give back to it carbonic-acid gas.",
    "The veins and veinlets, of which you see so many running through a leaf, act in something the same way as the water pipes of a city; for through these veins the watery food, the earth broth, is carried to the different cells.",
    "When one knows all that we know even now about a plant, one looks at a tree covered with leaves with a good deal of admiration.",
    "Just think of what is being done inside that quiet-looking tree! Think of the millions of cells that go to make it up, each cell having its own work to do! Think of the immense amount of business being carried on within the trunk, inside the branches, and especially in each green leaf! And when you have the chance, notice how hard each leaf tries to get just as much sun and air as it possibly can.",
    "In the first place, the thin, flat leaf blades are so spread out that every part is exposed to the light and air.",
    "Then notice how the leaves are placed in reference to one another.",
    "Almost every single one is fastened to the tree so as to get its fair share of sunshine.",
    "When you think of the many thousands of leaves borne by one tree, it astonishes you to see how seldom one leaf gets in another’s light.",
    "And the shapes of leaves are always suited to their arrangement on the tree.",
    "If you should take the leaves of a chestnut tree and replace them by the leaves of a maple, you would find the maple leaves all getting in each other’s way, or else you would see that they were taking up a great deal more room than necessary.",
    "But when a leaf is studied on its own tree, one sees that its shape is the very best that could be imagined for its position.",
    "And in the smaller plants we notice this same thing.",
    "And when you remember that Leaf Green cannot feed the plant unless Sunbeam comes to her assistance, you realize how necessary it is that each leaf be within the reach of Sunbeam’s visits.",
    "Mrs. William Starr Dana was a late 19th-century American nature writer best known for making botany accessible and engaging to everyday readers. Her landmark work How to Know the Wildflowers (1893) brought plant science to a wide popular audience, and The Diligent Tree reflects that same gift for turning scientific observation into genuine storytelling wonder."
  ],
  "body_text": "Now we have learned three things about plants, and especially about leaves. We have learned—\n\nThey perspire when the water passes through the leaf mouths into the air.\n\nThey eat when Leaf Green and Sunbeam together manage to take the carbon out of the carbonic-acid gas which has made its entrance through the leaf mouth and the cell wall. They drink when the roots suck in water and earth broth.\n\nThey breathe when the leaf mouths take from the air the oxygen, and give back to it carbonic-acid gas.\n\nThe veins and veinlets, of which you see so many running through a leaf, act in something the same way as the water pipes of a city; for through these veins the watery food, the earth broth, is carried to the different cells.\n\nWhen one knows all that we know even now about a plant, one looks at a tree covered with leaves with a good deal of admiration.\n\nJust think of what is being done inside that quiet-looking tree! Think of the millions of cells that go to make it up, each cell having its own work to do! Think of the immense amount of business being carried on within the trunk, inside the branches, and especially in each green leaf! And when you have the chance, notice how hard each leaf tries to get just as much sun and air as it possibly can.\n\nIn the first place, the thin, flat leaf blades are so spread out that every part is exposed to the light and air.\n\nThen notice how the leaves are placed in reference to one another.\n\nAlmost every single one is fastened to the tree so as to get its fair share of sunshine.\n\nWhen you think of the many thousands of leaves borne by one tree, it astonishes you to see how seldom one leaf gets in another’s light.\n\nAnd the shapes of leaves are always suited to their arrangement on the tree.\n\nIf you should take the leaves of a chestnut tree and replace them by the leaves of a maple, you would find the maple leaves all getting in each other’s way, or else you would see that they were taking up a great deal more room than necessary.\n\nBut when a leaf is studied on its own tree, one sees that its shape is the very best that could be imagined for its position.\n\nAnd in the smaller plants we notice this same thing.\n\nAnd when you remember that Leaf Green cannot feed the plant unless Sunbeam comes to her assistance, you realize how necessary it is that each leaf be within the reach of Sunbeam’s visits.\n\nMrs. William Starr Dana was a late 19th-century American nature writer best known for making botany accessible and engaging to everyday readers. Her landmark work How to Know the Wildflowers (1893) brought plant science to a wide popular audience, and The Diligent Tree reflects that same gift for turning scientific observation into genuine storytelling wonder.",
  "theme_slugs": [],
  "listing_memberships": [
    {
      "type": "author",
      "slug": "mrs-william-starr-dana",
      "title": "Mrs. William Starr Dana",
      "url": "https://ririro.com/author/mrs-william-starr-dana/"
    }
  ],
  "reading_meta": {
    "reading_level": null,
    "age_band": null,
    "read_time": null
  },
  "media": {
    "has_audio": false,
    "has_pdf": true,
    "has_images": true
  },
  "asset_refs": {
    "pdf_urls": [
      "https://ririro.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/The-Diligent-Tree_compressed.pdf"
    ],
    "audio_urls": [],
    "image_urls": [
      "https://ririro.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/the-diligent-tree.png"
    ]
  },
  "breadcrumbs": [
    "The Diligent Tree"
  ],
  "scraped_at": "2026-05-07T12:40:34+00:00"
}

Cleanup Actions

Approval