Tree Man: Gotta raise this little guy without letting him get too comfortable with humans!

Armadillo: I can't wait until I get as big as my daddy!

Edit: okay I just Wikipediaed this town and they're famous for their ancient tradition of carving fanciful wooden (masks and ) animals, including armadillos, which is probably what he's doing. Unless it's coming to life as he's becoming a tree, but that could just be my imagination