Jacob's Tree

Jacob was not tall enough to see himself in the bathroom mirror. He could not reach the cookie jar. Or get to the top of the jungle gym with his brother and sister. And taking vitamins and drinking milk and eating vegetables and doing stretches didn't help. Nothing helped. "Wait," said his mother. "Wait," said his father. And that certainly didn't help.

The winter was long and cold. The tree with the line measuring Jacob's height was deep in snow. But one morning the air was warm. Jacob went into the bathroom to brush his teeth, and looked in the mirror...