The loss of a tree

Ellie: Oh no! Mommy look!
Mommy: What was it? I didn't see it.
Ellie: It was a baby tree covered in snow.
Mommy: Oh?
Ellie: And it wasn't pretty like the big trees because the snow made it fall down. It broke the tree.
Mommy: Oh that's kind of sad.
Ellie: It is really sad because it was my favorite tree and now it will die. Every day we are going to drive past it and every day I will see it die more and more and that will make me sad... Hey! I know! If I get too sad, I can go home and dream about my favorite tree and how beautiful it used to be. I can have good dreams about how I remember it being pretty!
Mommy: Oh, that's a wonderful idea - to think of all the happy memories you have.
Ellie: Yeah but then I'm going to wake up and realize that my favorite tree is still going to die.

... Sigh... She's too young for such deep thoughts, isn't she?

Then, to put a happy, more age appropriate twist to the conversation, here is where it ended:

Ellie: Hey, Mommy? Do you want to know what happened to my favorite baby tree?
Mommy: I thought you said the wind knocked it down.
Ellie: No, a big fire came by and the tree caught on fire! And den the cows jumped the fence and blowed the fire out! But the fire made the trees all black so the cows jumped back home and ate their grass.
Mommy: Whoa!
Ellie: I know!