Forest Whimsy Table
- sarahwilk24
- Mar 4
- 19 min read
Updated: Jul 15
On a crisp fall morning, the forest is alive. The trees sway in the breeze, and the Wood Wide Web network of underground fungi, which runs through the heart of the Faratok Maple Tree, connects them all in joyous conversation. It is a time of plenty, and the trees watch over the forest's inhabitants with interest, offering them clean air, pure water, and abundant shade. Listen closely. Can you hear what the trees hear? Rusty hinges creaking as windows of forest cottages are thrown open to the world. In the early morning light, the leaves rustle as the forest's neighbors spring to life. What are they up to?
Magic Beans
1,248 pieces | Funwhole: F9002
Assembled by Vanessa Reyes, February 2025
Interaction Rating: 3 / 5 (interaction with the set is okay, but only with the help of an adult)
A young boy, Jack, traded his family's only milk cow for a handful of beans that offered the promise of magic. Earlier that week, he'd planted the beans in a clear patch where the sun's rays could reach, an opening in the forest floor created by the passing of an elder tree. He leaves home at first light to journey to the patch, curious if the beans have sprouted. From a distance, he can see something new towering in the tree line. Is that a beanstalk? Did it grow from his beans? As he approaches and looks up the stalk, he notices plenty of places to grip and step. He feels drawn to it, like it beckons him. What might he encounter at the top, so close to the golden sun? The hope of salvation for his family is greater than his fear of danger. He places his hands on the sturdy beanstalk and begins to climb.
The Giver
667 pieces | LEGO: 31154
Assembled by Sarah Wilkinson, May 2025
Interaction Rating: 5 / 5 (interaction with the set is encouraged)
At dawn's first light, the Woodland Fox knows it's time to finish up the night's secret deliveries and head back to the den. He can already hear the skittering of tiny feet bounding across the forest floor, the world waking up for the day. He approaches the base of the Faratok Maple Tree and dives into his den. The Faratok is an old tree, older even than the fox. Its branches connect to different dimensions in time and space. The fox knows the channels carved within its roots well, having traveled them many times to find new homes whenever his secret is discovered. For now, the fox himself is mostly a myth in the Forest of Whimsy, and he is safe. By day, he rests in his den. By night, he slips through the woods like a whisper, taking the overabundance of the few and redistributing it to the many creatures in the forest who need a little more. The gifts he leaves are often small enough that the ones he takes from never notice, but the ones he gives to recognize the offering and put it to use, even if they don't know where it came from.
He thought he was going to get caught a few nights ago when he discovered a shed that he'd never seen before in the middle of a quiet stretch of woods. Inside, there were piles of seeds and beans that had a hearty look to them, as if they'd produce an edible bounty. The fox was gathering as much as he could carry when he thought he heard footsteps outside, but when he looked, there was no one. He delivered a heaping handful of beans to the doorstep of the family of halfling farmers who recently arrived in the village, hoping it would provide them all they needed to get settled. When he went back the next night to find the shed and gather more gifts, he couldn't find it. He circled the woods for hours, but it was gone.
Journey from Earth
2,233 pieces | Zhegao: 1016
Assembled by Vanessa Reyes, December 2024
Interaction Rating: 3 / 5 (interaction with the set is okay, but only with the help of an adult)
To those who don't know its wonder, the Faratok Maple Tree is simply a big, beautiful tree bearing leaves with bright, fiery reds and oranges. But to those who discover its secrets, it makes incredible things possible. Years ago, best friends Anne, Marcy, and Sasha accidentally traveled through the Faratok Maple Tree to a magical world dominated by humanoid amphibians. They had no idea how they had arrived in this new world, and ended up separating during the journey through the tree. It took them months to find each other again, and when they finally did, they had to band together to fight a newt monarch who was trying to destroy the universe with his calamity box. Before they reunited, Anne was living with the Plantars, a kind family of frogs who took her in as one of their own. Hop Pop became a grandfather to her, and Sprig and Polly were like her brother and sister. After they defeated the monarch, the world of amphibians was in ruins, and as they travelled looking for somewhere safe to call home, they discovered the Faratok Maple Tree. Anne, Marcy, and Sasha could finally go home to their families on Earth, and the Plantars travelled to a new world in the Forest of Whimsy. Every so often, the friends journey through the Faratok to visit the Plantars and make sure they're safe.
As they pull up to the pair of Fly agaric mushrooms that the Plantars call home, Anne, Marcy, and Sasha can already sense that the Plantars aren't there. A peek into the barn confirms that their trusty steed, Bessie, is gone, along with her saddle. They load back into their beetle-drawn wagon and begin searching the forest for their friends. Anne has a sinking feeling that the Plantars are in trouble.
Read more about the show, Amphibia, which the Plantar family of characters is based around, in the couple's "Our Entertainment" exhibit.
The Enchanted Honey Castle
1,114 pieces | Unbranded
Assembled by Vanessa Reyes, June 2025
Interaction Rating: 4 / 5 (interaction with the set is encouraged, but use extra care)
It was some years ago now that Pooh Bear stumbled across the Enchanted Honey Castle while he was lost in the forest. Ever since, he has been making an annual pilgrimage each fall to the castle, often bringing a friend with him to make sure he doesn't get lost again. Today, he has a bouncing Tigger with him on the journey. He has also brought along the honey spoon that he found gifted to him on his doorstep that morning. It was just in time, as Pooh had accidentally stepped on his favorite honey spoon the day before, snapping it in half. The new one will come in handy as they harvest the honey at the castle to take home with them for winter.
They look out for the magical maple tree that always seems to know exactly where Pooh needs to go. When they find it after a few hours of walking, Pooh shows Tigger the shortcut through the base of the tree, and chuckles when Tigger hits his head on a tree branch after bouncing too high. As they emerge into the sunlight, neither realizes that they've entered a different forest entirely. Pooh assures Tigger, who's nursing a bump on his head, that they aren't too far from the Enchanted Honey Castle with its promise of abundant honey--the sweetest Pooh has ever tasted--and no pesky bees to sting them while they harvest. They don't notice the tendrils of smoke that are beginning to rise behind them, back toward the maple tree.
The Caretaker
428 pieces | Brick Panda: B28-40
Assembled by Mike Alfare, June 2025
Interaction Rating: 4 / 5 (interaction with the set is encouraged, but use extra care)
From his cozy home in the base of an elder tree, the Wood Man sits in front of his fireplace sipping a mug of warm tea. The sun has been up for a little while, but the Wood Man is in no hurry. He grabs his acoustic guitar and strums a few chords. He lets the fire burn down to embers before heading out to check on the Faratok Maple Tree. No one knows quite how old the tree is, but most know of its magic. The Wood Man had been taking care of the tree for years, patching holes in the bark and chasing pests away. He doesn't understand the mechanics of it, but knows that if the tree is harmed in one dimension, it can cause problems in all of the other dimensions. The wildfire of '42 is blamed on some unknown villain catching the Faratok Maple Tree on fire in another dimension when its caretaker wasn't around, though no one knows for sure what happened. Miraculously, the Faratok only sustained minor burns that could heal with time. Scars are still visible in the bark if you know what to look for.
As the Wood Man walks through the forest, he captures a glimpse of a huge, towering beanstalk in the distance. He stops in his tracks and stares. He has heard tales of magic beanstalks, though he has never seen one in person. Legend says that great treasures are hidden at the top, and the Wood Man is never one to pass up the possibility of treasure. No one here in the Forest of Whimsy has ever harmed the Faratok Maple Tree, he reasons. It will be fine if he doesn't check on it today. He turns heel and heads toward the giant beanstalk, rubbing his twig hands together in delight. After a short while, wispy smoke begins to rise toward the sky behind him, back toward the Faratok.
Bessie the Snail & Her Humanoid Amphibians
67 pieces | Knew Built: KY80040
Assembled by Vanessa, March 2025
Interaction Rating: 5 / 5 (interaction with the set is encouraged)
Bessie and the Plantar frogs, Hop Pop, Sprig, and Polly, arrive at the market just as the sun is rising. Hop Pop was only able to convince the kids to get out of bed so early for market day by promising he'd make chocopede pancakes for dinner, their favorite. Work on the farm has been exhausting lately, but the harvest is over, and now all they have to do is take their goods to market. The only problem is that the market is completely deserted, no one there selling or buying. "Well, this won't do," says Hop Pop. All that separates them from the fallow season (the season of rest!) is selling their vegetables. "What if we use the Faratok Maple Tree to find a market that's open somewhere else?" Sprig ventures. Against his better judgment, Hop Pop agrees. He tries not to travel through the tree too often, for fear they won't be able to find their way back. But then again, they hadn't had any silly hijinks happen in a long time, so maybe things were finally peaceful for them and they could put the trauma of their previous life behind them. Bessie shuttles them to the Faratok, slipping through the portal at the base of the tree. They arrive in a charming little village with a bustling market happening in the town square. The Plantars set up their makeshift stand next to other vendors and do a hopping business with the locals. They're so busy selling carrots and cabbages as quickly as possible that they don't notice the wisps of smoke beginning to rise from the base of the Faratok Maple Tree.
Read more about the show, Amphibia, which the Plantar family of characters is based around, in the couple's "Our Entertainment" exhibit.
The Tyranny of Giants
899 pieces | Loz: JB1281
Assembled by Vanessa Reyes, June 2025
Interaction Rating: 3 / 5 (interaction with the set is okay, but only with the help of an adult)
Every night since the morning when halflings, Mack and Zeb, first woke up to find a pile of beans on their front doorstep, they have woken up to more gifts. They quickly hide each morning's gift away from their granddaughters, Tillie and Twila, who are still scared of magic and prefer to believe it doesn't exist in their new homeland. Mack and Zeb can't be sure the gifts are the result of magic, but they had already learned that many of the locals revere magic. Just the other day, while Zeb was at the market looking for a deal on a new cow, he ran into a young boy searching for something that might save his family from destitution. So desperate was this boy that he was willing to trade his family's last milk cow for hope. Zeb feels terrible about it now, but he told the boy that the beans in his pocket (the ones he'd found on his stoop that morning) were magic beans, capable of producing the exact miracle you need, when you need it most. It was complete hokum, and Zeb didn't expect the boy to believe any of it. But he did, and eagerly traded the milk cow for it. Zeb couldn't believe his luck—a milk cow was the miracle his family needed most as they settled into their new home. Maybe the beans were magic.
When Mack and Zeb come out to start the morning's chores on the farm, Tillie is already scattering chicken feed in the yard, and Twila is on a stool beside the milk cow, cooing gently to her as she coaxes milk into a bucket. Mack is heading to muck the chicken coop, and Zeb is reaching for the wheelbarrow when they see a beetle-drawn wagon careening by at top speed. Tillie lets out a scream as she looks up and sees the wagon, and Twila jumps off the stool, spooked by Tillie's outburst. They stare, watching the wagon pass. They came to the Forest of Whimsy through the Faratok Maple Tree to escape the giants who roamed their previous homeland after one stepped on their house and leveled it to splinters. Thankfully, they'd all been away at market, but they'd come home to find their life's work in ruins. That was the moment they decided to find a place free from the tyranny of the giants. They thought they'd been successful in choosing their new home, not having seen any giants here.
But now, looking in the back of the beetle-drawn wagon as it races past, they see three giants with their eyes fixed on the road ahead. The wagon flips up onto two wheels as the giants take a sharp left at a clearing, and they disappear into the trees. Mack, Zeb, Tillie, and Twila, all stunned, slowly raise their eyes above the tree line in the direction the giants sped off to. Smoke gathers as recognition dawns. Gasping, they all shout in unison, "The Faratok!"
Serenity Blaze
145 pieces | LEGO: 31140
Assembled by Hunter Williams, September 2024
Interaction Rating: 5 / 5 (interaction with the set is encouraged)
As Jack reaches the top of the beanstalk, he sees a gate that must be forty feet tall. It connects to a fence of the same height, which seems to encircle the perimeter of the beanstalk. What might such a large fence and gate be needed to keep out...or in? He'd come too far to get scared now, and besides, the gate was open. All he had to do was walk through it...
Jack watches with curiosity as the ground grows steadily closer. Fear rushes through him, but he doesn't feel it. His brain hasn't caught up to the fact that he is falling from the top of the beanstalk. He hit a force field when he tried to walk through the open gate, and it launched his body so far into the air that he went right over the side. He hears the swoosh of wings growing closer to him and, with a jolt, lands on the back of Serenity Blaze, one of the unicorns who calls the Forest of Whimsy home. The unicorns are rarely seen. Jack hadn't known whether they were real or just a myth, but now he is riding on one. He looks out around him for the first time since he started falling, no longer fixated on the ground. Huh, he says to himself. What's causing all that smoke over there?
A Fairy of Bad Intentions
962 pieces | Loz: 1379
Assembled by Rachel Deese, January 2025
Interaction Rating: 3 / 5 (interaction with the set is okay, but only with the help of an adult)
No one has seen the Cotter family, inhabitants of the Autumn Cottage, in days. But the family has always kept to themselves, so no one in town wastes any time worrying about them. But as the sun begins to creep in through the windows of the cottage that morning, the townspeople should be worried. Marilla, a Fairy of bad intentions, has taken up residence in the house, banishing the Cotter family to live in a bottomless black void that only Marilla can conjure. She usually is too large for a house made for a halfling family like the Cotters, but she can alter her size when it suits her. She is not from this world, but she has every intention of making this her home, of ensuring that nothing and no one will ever find her here. If her plan works, she even promises to bring the Cotters back and make a real home of her own. If...
Marilla wastes no time, leaving the cottage soon after sunrise to check on the Faratok Maple Tree, which should be shriveling at the roots by now. She is filled with annoyance as she realizes she'll have to go to the tree on foot, since her Past tore her right wing as it chased her through the Faratok's roots before she ended up in the Forest of Whimsy. As she sets off, she marvels at how well her plan has come together. It was too easy tricking the supposedly wise Woodland Fox into delivering the poison beans he found in the shed she conjured to the halfling farmers. She'd gone back the next night and watched with bemusement from a tree as the fox circled the woods for hours trying to find the shed again. Once the beans had been delivered, she had to wait and see if the halfling farmers would trade the beans at market for something else, as she thought they would. She was, of course, right. As farmers who rear animals rather than produce crops, they had little use for the beans. The timing at the market was perfect; the young boy, Jack, showed up with his milk cow as if on cue. She would have had the Woodland Fox deliver the beans straight to his doorstep, but the boy's family had always been too proud to accept gifts. The fox stopped giving to them long ago when he discovered that his gifts were being discarded with the garbage. She knew she could count on the boy to plant the poison beans, especially if he believed they were magic. Zeb's lies to the boy about the magic quality of the beans couldn't have been more perfect had Marilla scripted them herself.
She steps into the clearing and approaches the tree. It looks completely fine to her, no signs of shriveling or struggle of any kind. The boy planted the poison beans, so that wasn't the problem. They were supposed to kill the Wood Wide Web, and therefore, the Faratok. Why weren't they working? She looks up, and suddenly the beanstalk towering over the forest across town comes into focus. She had been so wrapped up in recalling her genius that she hadn't noticed it. "Naida!" she screams. She should have known better than to trust an elf. She breaks out running through the forest, back to the cottage to gather supplies. It has been a wet fall here; she can tell from the smell of rot that pervades the woods. That means she will need kindling and something to create lots of sparks. She had meticulously planned the downfall of the Faratok so that she had the strongest possible chance of escaping suspicion, and she almost pulled it off. But now, she has no choice.
From the ashes of the Faratok, she can be reborn and finally outrun the Past that seeks to destroy her. Even if it means that everyone in the Forest of Whimsy—and every dimension connected through the tree—can no longer move freely between worlds.
The Water Dragon
212 pieces | LEGO: 41172 (retired)
Assembled by Sarah Wilkinson, June 2025
Interaction Rating: 5 / 5 (interaction with the set is encouraged)
Naida the elf and her water dragon, Merina, are as much a part of this forest as the trees, the soil, and the water that flows through it all. When the forest is in pain, they can feel it too. Right now, Naida feels concerned. Not because the forest is crying out for help, but because she knows that a fairy is dwelling somewhere nearby. She has never met a fairy she could trust, nor one who gave any consideration to those around her. The forest is teeming with an abundance of life, made possible by many intricate systems that exist in a delicate balance. A single fairy can usher in total system collapse if doing so serves their interests.
She may not have known that a fairy arrived in the village if Marilla hadn't sought Naida out for help. As soon as Marilla came close, Naida could finally name a distant feeling she'd been having for days but hadn't been able to discern: dis-ease. Marilla had bad intentions, Naida was sure of it. She came asking to make a trade: something Naida needed in exchange for something Marilla needed. Unfortunately, Naida did genuinely need something. Merina had injured herself during a routine patrol of the woods when a sudden rainstorm made it impossible for her to see. She'd run into a tree and was nursing a wound on her leg that wouldn't heal on its own. Marilla offered to conjure a potion that could heal the dragon, but only in exchange for a potent poison bean that only elves know how to make. She'd refused to tell Naida what she intended to use the poison for, but knew it couldn't be good. Traditionally, elves only use that potion in the most desperate situations to fight an imminent threat to their survival.
Naida agreed to a trade, but instead of giving Marilla genuine poison beans, she gave her magic ones that looked the same. The magic beans contained within them a towering beanstalk and a gentle giant who lives at the top of it. When planted, the beans would unleash the beanstalk into the world. Naida knows the giant, and he'd be no threat to the forest. He is trapped on the beanstalk; nothing can get in or out of the gates that fence him in due to a curse he was given by none other than a fairy. Marilla left with the beans, none the wiser about their true nature. Naida was scared that Marilla might have tricked her as well, so she tried a dab of potion on herself first. When it boosted her mood and cleared up a rash she had on her arm, Naida trusted that it was a genuine healing potion and gave some to Merina.
As Naida applies the last dose of potion on Merina's almost-healed arm, she is overwhelmed with feelings of chaos, heat, and destruction. She knows the fairy will go to any length to get what she wants, and has probably discovered by now that the poison beans were a ruse. The forest cries out for help. In a flash, Naida mounts Merina, and they take off into the sky to find Marilla.
The Faratok Maple Tree
474 pieces | LEGO: 10348
Assembled by Sarah Wilkinson, June 2025
Interaction Rating: 4 / 5 (interaction with the set is encouraged, but use extra care)
The Faratok Maple Tree is a vibrant shade of red and orange. Fire licks up the base of the tree, getting closer to the brilliant leaves, which are already the color of flames. The Faratok knows fire, has known it in different moments throughout all time. It has been scarred by it before. So far, it has always survived each Time of Fire. But it knows fire's destructive power, and that this Time could be the Time when the Faratok finally succumbs to the great destroyer. The Faratok cannot fight back against fire's ceaseless hunger. It devours histories as easily as the Faratok's bark. It severs all connections. It singes all possible futures.
Serenity Blaze flies Jack as far away as possible from the fire. She knows she can't get to the fire in time to save the Faratok. The best thing she can do is to bring the child she rescued from near-death at the beanstalk to true safety with the other unicorns.
The Woodland Fox sees the fairy running back from the flames as they take root at the base of the Faratok. It is not in his nature to fight. He dives through the root tunnels of the Faratok, hoping he finds somewhere he can start anew one last time.
Anne, Marcy, and Sasha hurry their beetle chauffeur toward the base of the Faratok Maple Tree. The smoke is overwhelming. They run around the tree calling out for the Plantars, but can't find them anywhere. Scared to lose their only portal back home to Earth as the fire spreads, they say goodbye to the Forest of Whimsy one last time and race into the Faratok's tunnels.
Pooh Bear and Tigger harvest more jars of honey than they can carry home with them, so they take a little extra time at the Enchanted Honey Castle to eat their fill. "Uh, Pooh Bear," Tigger says, grabbing at Pooh's shirt sleeve and pointing at the thick gray smoke that almost looks like clouds. "What do you suppose is happening there?" Pooh says, "Oh bother," and offers Tigger another spoonful of honey.
The Wood Man smells the smoke before he turns around to see it taking over the sky above the forest. "Uh-oh," he says. "Guess I shouldn't have skipped checking on the tree today."
Bessie is the one to alert the Plantars to the fire at the base of the Faratok Maple Tree, nudging Hop Pop's arm until he gets fed up and yells, "Well, what is it then?" He looks up to see the fire. With the strength of a much younger frog, he throws Spring and Polly onto Bessie's saddle, jumps on, and yells, "Bessie! Things are getting messy!" Bessie races into action, darting toward the Faratok's tunnels. Inside the roots, they rush past a fox they've never seen before that seems to be running away from the Forest of Whimsy.
Mack, Zeb, Tillie, and Twila do the only thing they know how to do in good times and bad: keep tending the animals on the farm. While they muck the stalls, they can almost ignore the growing likelihood that they'll never be able to leave this place through the Faratok's tunnels if they choose to. While they grease the hinges on the barn door, they can almost forget their fear from realizing that giants exist in the Forest of Whimsy and that they may not be as safe here as they hoped.
Marilla stands back and watches the Faratok burn. She never fancied herself an arsonist, but in a pinch, she did a blazing-good job. The smoke makes it hard to see clearly, but she thinks she spots a blue streak up by the Faratok's upper branches. At the first drop of water that hits her skin, she curses the apparent rainstorm that has arrived with perfectly awful timing. But then she sees the blue streak again, closer this time, and begins to recognize the shape of Naida's water dragon. Oh. No. Marilla suddenly remembers that Naida doesn't have just any dragon: she has a water dragon. A water dragon that Marilla helped heal! A water dragon that is dousing the beautiful flames that represented Marilla's only hope for escaping the Past that wishes to destroy her!
Naida and Merina fly through the thick smoke, as close to the Faratok Maple Tree as they can get. Merina uses her water powers to tamp down the flames. They've grown so large that it is taking a lot of water, and Merina is getting tired as they circle back toward the tree again and again. Her injured arm is holding up for now, but it will give out at some point, and she will surely be hurt again. Naida can feel Merina's pain, but also her brave determination to keep fighting the flames. Naida spots Marilla at the corner of the woods, helplessly watching them foil her plans. She can see Marilla thinking hard about what to do. Suddenly, she takes off running toward the Faratok's root tunnels and disappears below.
The Faratok Maple feels the cool sensation of water running down its bark. Such a wonderful feeling. A reminder of the many millions of rains the Faratok has weathered across time. There's comfort in the memory, as it means that not all has been lost. This was a time of fire, but it was not the Time of Fire. It didn't sever all connections or destroy all hope. With time, healing the burns may yet again be possible. And life in the Forest of Whimsy, as in all other dimensions linked through the Faratok's roots, will go on, their futures bound together in a single, delicate, and interconnected fate.
Accessory Sets
Hornet
90 pieces | Knew Built: KY80040
Assembled by Vanessa Reyes, March 2025
Interaction Rating: 5 / 5 (interaction with the set is encouraged)
Praying Mantis
103 pieces | Knew Built: KY80040
Assembled by Vanessa Reyes, March 2025
Interaction Rating: 5 / 5 (interaction with the set is encouraged)
Lightning Bug
96 pieces | Knew Built: KY80040
Assembled by Vanessa Reyes, March 2025
Interaction Rating: 5 / 5 (interaction with the set is encouraged)
Miscellaneous Insects
121 pieces | HSANHE
Assembled by Andrew Deese, May 2025
Interaction Rating: 5 / 5 (interaction with the set is encouraged)
On Display: Ant, Dragonfly, Beetle, Ladybug, Mosquito