When graduate student Donald Currey cut down an ancient tree to find out how old it was he learned that he had killed the oldest known living thing on Earth. Could anything good come out of such a mistake.

"Red system" series part identified by red band on books as identified on publisher webpage for Fountas & Pinnell Leveled Literacy Intervention System (LLI) http://www.heinemann.com/fountasandpinnell/lli_Overview.aspx.