This is the story of Marcie the Marvelous Tree and the Tree Musketeers. Play the songs by clicking the arrow; click the square next to it to stop.
In a beautiful forest, the sun rises on a spectacular spring day. (Mighty Sycamore) Mrs. Sycamore and Miss Pine discover a new addition to the forest — a young sycamore sapling is born. They explain to the young tree who she is and what it means to be a tree. (Mighty Sycamore, Part II)
Meanwhile, somewhere in the great big city, a Brownie troop is preparing to go on a camping trip. The decision must be made — should they take their old standard issue Brownie tin plates and tin cups, or should they use paper plates and paper cups. (Brownie Oath).
It's close, but the Brownies vote for the tin plates and cups instead of killing another tree just for the convenience of paper plates. Scott, the brother of one of the Brownies, begs to go along on the camping trip and the girls allow him to tag along — but he has to carry all the extra water they will need, since there is a drought at the campsite. With the Brownie Camping Checklist complete, they are off on their adventure. (Camp Wacamucka)
The little sapling sycamore is now in a pot, on sale in a nursery where she meets other young trees. She isn't happy about being taken from the forest, but they try to convince her that this is the opportunity of a lifetime! Someone is going to pick them and plant them, maybe on a golf course, or in a garden or in a park. (Pick Me Razzmatazz)
But the little sycamore tree is, well, sick. She is root bound and no one buys root-bound trees. The others are bought by Mrs. Millionaire for her palatial gardens while the sickly sycamore is rejected. Sadly, the sycamore sings. (Marcie's Pick Me)
(Camp Wacamukca Reprise) The Brownies arrive at their campsite. They gather around the campfire to tell ghost stories. One of the Brownies tells a haunting tale about what might happen to the environment in the future. (The Very Near Future).
Scared by the facts and not willing to live in the apocalyptic world pictured in the song, they decide to take initiative on their own to save the world. They decide that when they go back home to the city, they will plant a tree. And they form a pact among themselves to do what's right for the environment. They call themselves the Tree Musketeers. (Tree Musketeers)
At the nursery, the sickly sycamore is about to be thrown in the dumpster, discarded as useless. But the Brownies, now in search of their tree, decide that she is the perfect tree for them to plant. The problem is the sycamore tree costs one hundred samolies and that's a lot of money! They don't have that many samolies. So they decide to raise the money, one samolie at a time. (The Fundraiser)
Successful in their fundraising, they pay the one hundred samolies and are the proud owners of a sycamore tree that they decide to name her. (Marcie, The Marvelous Tree) They ceremonially plant Marcie and tell her all of the things that they expect her, as a tree, to do. Marcie has to provide oxygen. And prevent soil erosion. And purify the rain water. And . . . and . . . and . . . Marcie is a tad overwhelmed, afraid she might not be up to the task. (Just Little Old Me) Alone, Marcie accepts her mission and is ready to do her part to "save the world."
A gang of teenagers (The Do-Wop Vandals) who "do-wop and sing rama-lama-dam-ding while they steal children's bikes," break Marcie's branches, carve their names in her trunk, and ultimately pull her out of the ground, leaving her for dead.
That same night, back in the forest, Mrs. Sycamore has a bad dream in which she sees her little sapling tree in great distress. Mrs. Pine tries to comfort her, telling her that the bad dream was probably caused by "something she ate, something in the soil." (Mighty Sycamore Reprise)
The next morning, the Brownies discover Marcie has been vandalized and they go about replanting her, taking care of her and promising that nothing like that will ever happen again. More determined than ever, the Brownies decide to (Take it to the Top). They get the police involved (who arrest the Do-Wop-Vandals), they get the press behind them (who help spread the word about the Tree Musketeers and Marcie) and the Brownies decide to publish a book (Marcie the Marvelous Tree: An Autobiography).
Via carrier pigeon, Mrs. Sycamore and Miss Pine receive a copy of the book and learn of Marcie's new found celebrity. Miss Pine, jealous that the Brownies didn't choose a pine tree, sings (Mighty Sycamore Reprise II).
The Do-Wop Vandals, now out of jail, repent and as part of their sentence, do community service, taking care of trees. (Do-Wop-Vandal Reprise)
The Tree Musketeers and Marcie become known around the world and the Brownies are invited to the White House. (Finale) The Brownies and Marcie have succeeded, even if in a small way, at saving the world — one tree at a time — thanks to Marcie, the Marvelous Tree.
The end.