The Sequoia

Polly went to Mariposa Grove. It is full of giant sequoias. They are the biggest trees in the world.

Sequoia bark is not brown. It is deep orange. Polly landed on a branch. She pecked the bark with her beak. It was soft. The bark was very thick. The thick bark protects the tree from fire.

A family walked past. A little girl said, "Look, a parrot!" Her father said, "It is a toy." Polly did not move.

She flew up the tree. At thirty metres up, the branches started. They were thick. She perched on one. The top of the tree was still far above.

The biggest tree was called the Grizzly Giant. It was about 3,000 years old. Its trunk was wider than a bus.

Polly perched on the trunk. She looked up.

Three thousand years. The tree was already old when Rome was a small village.

Polly stayed a long time. There was an old fire mark on the trunk. The tree had survived many fires.

A small seed fell past her. Sequoia seeds need fire to grow. The cones open only in heat. New trees grow after a burn.