A/N: When I first went to see The Lorax in theaters, I kept wondering where Audrey heard about truffula trees. This is my theory. I previously published this on deviantart; I've made some minor adjustments, but the story is still the same.
Disclaimer: I own nothing except Mamaw Stacy. The Lorax motion picture belongs to Universal and Illumination Entertainment, and the book belongs to a wonderful man known as Dr. Seuss.
"Mamaw Stacy, whatcha drawin'?" asked four-year-old Audrey curiously, standing up tiptoe to see over the arm of her grandmother's chair. The woman smiled, and held up her sketchbook, "Something I loved when I was your age. They're called truffula trees. They used to grow all around here."
Audrey gasped as she scanned the picture. Even though they were simple sketches drawn with colored pencils in a notebook, in Audrey's mind they were the most beautiful things she'd ever seen. She reached out and touched a tree's pink tufts, as though she would actually be able to feel it, then looked up at her grandmother and inquired, "What are they like?"
"Well, that's hard to describe," said Mamaw Stacey with a smile, picking Audrey up and plopping her onto her lap, then giving her the sketchbook to hold. She considered it for a minute, "Their trunks were smooth, Audrey, smoother than anything you've ever felt, but easy to climb at the same time. Their tufts were soft, too, softer than silk, and they smelled more wonderful than butterfly milk."
"What's that mean?" asked Audrey, confused.
"It means that they felt wonderful and smelled even more wonderful," explained Mamaw Stacy.
"Oh. How come they aren't here in Thneedville? Couldn't Mr. O'Hare build some if he wanted to?"
"No, sweetie, truffula trees weren't built. They grew, out of the ground. It took time for them to get like this, sort of like how it takes children a long time to become grown-ups."
"Oh. Well, why can't we grow one ourselves? I'll bet we could get one in the store if we look really hard!"
Mamaw Stacy's eyes grew strange. They held a mixture of sadness, anger, and regret. She took a deep breath and replied gently, "No we can't, honey. There are no more truffula trees. Somebody chopped them all down years ago; they're all gone."
Audrey's hands flew to her mouth; she looked shocked. Then, a determined expression crossed her face, and she declared, "Well, I'll bet there's ONE tree left out there, and when I get big, I'm gonna go find it, and grow it in my backyard!"
Mamaw Stacy smiled wistfully. If only she could have as much faith as a four-year-old. Without even really thinking about it, she began to tell Audrey everything she remembered about trees. How they were planted from seeds, how they grew up in soil, how they helped the environment by taking in carbon dioxide and giving out oxygen. She described in vivid detail the Truffula Forest that she had spent much of her childhood playing in, the beauty of it, the animals that lived in it. Audrey listened with rapt attention; her grandmother had to clarify some things (such as what carbon dioxide and oxygen were), but mostly Audrey seemed to understand. As Mamaw Stacy talked, she showed her granddaughter pictures of the forest that she'd drawn or painted over the years. When she was done talking, the two went over to a table, and began drawing more pictures of the lost trees. By the time Audrey's parents returned home from a date, Audrey had proudly taped six pictures of truffula trees- done by a four-year-old's hand in crayon, but nonetheless fairly good pictures- to her bedroom wall. As she went to bed, she once again declared how she intended to do anything to get a tree.
Mamaw Stacy shook her head as she went to bed herself. If only Audrey could get a tree, plant one, protect it, start a whole new forest. But several factors- including a lack of seeds and the man in charge of the whole town, Mr. O'Hare- made that unlikely. But Audrey was an intelligent, stubborn little girl, and she did seem fascinated by trees. Maybe when she grew up, she could go see the Once-ler...
No, Mamaw Stacy told herself firmly. You mustn't get your hopes up. If that old coot knew anything about any possible trees, he would have planted one by now. Besides, Audrey's a four-year-old, for Pete's sake, this is just a usual child fixation for fairy-tales that will fade away by the time she hits the fourth grade. Tonight was fun, yes- a good bout of reminiscing on better times- but it'll be a distant memory in Audrey's head by tomorrow.
Mamaw Stacy had no way of knowing that that night, she had sparked in young Audrey's mind a beautiful, impossible dream. A dream that would, ten years from that day, send a love-struck twelve-year-old boy to the very "old coot" she'd dismissed, a dream that would eventually cause the regrowth of her beloved Truffula Forest. She thought that it wouldn't have mattered if she hadn't shared any of her memories, but someday soon, she would be glad that she did.