"I am the forest, I am an ancient. I treasure the stag, I treasure the deer. I shelter you from..."

“I am the forest,
I am an ancient.
I treasure the stag,
I treasure the deer.
I shelter you from storm,
I shelter you from snow.
I resist the frost,
I keep the source.
I nurse the earth,
I am always there.
I build your house,
I kindle your hearth.
Therefore, you people,
hold me dear.”

- Inscription found in a 17th century forester’s house in Lower Saxony, Germany
(via dysterskog)