The Tree Folk

Heyir and Uri, for some unholy reason, had preoccupied themselves with building a tree fort for the better part of the day. Ezeki had ignored them with gusto, relishing a break from chaperoning them for the moment to preen its messy white feathers.
Then, it had taken ages for Ezeki to coax them back down for food, only succeeding when it had stalked away and sulkily began to eat its soup all alone. The next time it looked up, there they were: twiggy feathered and contrite. The three Yashelin took their meal together in silence, Ezeki eager to milk their guilt for all its worth.
For once, Ezeki did not have to struggle to put Heyir to bed beside Uri for the night. When it gratefully turned its tired back, Uri's soft whisper called it back, "Ezeki, tell us a story?"
Ezeki huffed and smiled at the same time. "As soon as I deal with this fire."
"What's the story gonna be about?" Heyir asked.
"Have I ever told you about the Tree Folk?"
"No! Who are they?" There are folks other than us out there?
"I haven't?! And here I thought you'd gotten that idea from them..."
Ezeki trailed off, tending to the fire.
"What idea...?" Uri prodded.
"Living in the trees, of course!" Ezeki otherwise ignored the impatient duo until it has also settled down for bed.

Summary

The story of the tree folk is the one of the first stories told by Ezeki to Uri and Heyir when all three of them were incredibly young.
The story of the Tree Folk begins with a young boy named Kabi who had lived his entire life in the treetops with his family as one of the many Tree Folk of the Forest. There was no need to go to the ground unless absolutely necessary because the canopy provided for them.
One day, Kabi watched a bird drop a large red seed on the ground below, one of a few clearings where there were no trees. Before he knew it, a small tree had grown with funny looking yellow flowers. When the yellow flowers turned orange and looked no longer like a flower, but like a large berry, Kabi daringly snuck out of the canopy and dropped down onto the soft ground below to sample the orange berry. Out of curiosity, he stuck another seed into the ground nearby and watched the orange berry tree grow.
It took years and years, but Kabi eventually convinced his family to come down from the trees with him. They sat around a fire and enjoyed the fruits of his labor. His family planted other seeds. Eventually, they grew so fat on what they had planted, foraged, and hunted on the ground that they could no longer climb the trees the way they used to, so Kabi and his family declared themselves Ground Folk instead.

Historical Basis

Anyone who knows anything about the origin and evolution of the Henin peoples give pause when they hear the old children's tale, although most people dismiss its potential as a retelling of a historical event because Ezeki, Uri, and Heyir had genuinely no way to know about another planet, let alone the Henin. Others, who have a better grasp on Ezeki's powers than perhaps even itself, are not so sure.

Spread

Every single Yashelin knows the story of the Tree Folk. It's one of the most common bedtimes stories passed down from Wanuye to Kabi.

Variations & Mutation

The problem with Ezeki still being alive is that no one can get away with egregious changes to the story. After all, everyone has read the original story... The original story that people read, however, is not quite the same as the vague story that Ezeki told Uri and Heyir so many years before the development of a genuine Yashelin society.
Some changes have been made to reflect this, such as more details about what the rest of Kabi's family -- now called his community -- wanted to plant to reflect what the Yashelin plant in their gardens and fields today. Additionally, the orange berry tree is now called the Wanuye Tree.

Cultural Reception

The story of the Tree Folk is the origin of calling a primary caregiver and their child Wanuye and Kabi, or Great Tree and Sapling, after the seeds that the Wanuye Tree dropped that became the rest of Kabi's orchard in the story.
Upon the discovery of orange trees on Kivria, the Yashelin immediately transplanted them because of their likeness to the orange berries from the story.
One of the first major variations of the Tree Folk occurred when Ezeki caught Heyir, Uri, and Coran stuffing grass in their mouth. It immediately upbraided them with the story of the Grass Folk.
[Name] Folk is often used as a mild insult when someone is doing something baffling. Maran Vela's fascination with water, for example, caused him to be accused of trying to meet the Water Folk.