Once upon a time, there
lived a poor man Paul. Born into
poverty, money and wealth was something he had never known. He had a wife and three children and as a
poor man, he was a beggar and would walk around the village, asking for any
food he could have to feed his family.
He went door to door for
weeks and received enough food to get by but as the weeks turned into months,
the food became scarce. He knew he
couldn’t keep up the unknown of whether or not his family would have food for
much longer for it was not enough for his family anymore.
One day, Paul saw an
old, cranky man who had lived in the village for sixty years and there, he overheard
the man, who owned one hundred acres of property in the village, say he had an
announcement to make the following day at noon.
Hearing this news, Paul was
going to return the next day at noon to see what the landlord had to say,
hoping it might be something that would help his family. Though Paul knew
his hope was a little far-fetched, he had no other options.
So the next day, the
landlord came out to make his speech. Little did Paul know, the landlord
was looking for someone to do a task for him and in return, he who completed
the task would be granted a great reward.
Paul asked, “Sir, what
is the task you need done? I am willing to do anything.”
The landlord replied, “I
am in need of someone to go fetch me an apple from the tallest apple tree far
away in the forest. This is a tree that no one can miss. It is the
tallest, biggest, and most plentiful apple tree anyone has ever seen.
Though I know no one has
ever been able to climb it, since the land out there has a history of being
haunted by the dead who roam there, the man who picks the apple will be granted
ten acres of my land. There, you will be able to live rent free
forever.”
Paul knew that no one
had ever been able to climb the tree alone or dare to wander that far in fear
of the ghosts, but he also knew this was his only chance at saving his family
from the poor, begging life he was living. Terrified of the unknown, none
of the other men accepted the challenge to make their way out to the tree and get
an apple, except for Paul, whose desperation kept him motivated.
And so, that night, Paul
walked out into the depths of the forest, into the land where ghosts roam, to
find the apple tree and grab just one apple for the landlord.
Paul was on the
lookout. Though he had never been afraid
of ghosts before, the stories he heard about the ones here made him weary. As he searched and searched for the tree, he
never once saw a ghost anywhere. Onward
he searched until - there it was.
When he finally saw the
tree, he knew the landlord was right. It was the tallest, biggest, most
plentiful apple tree he had ever seen. There was more fruit on the tree
than he could have ever imagined. He knew this was enough to feed his
whole family for months and months.
“If there were some way
that I could build a home out here, my family and I would be set. I don’t
have the money or the resources to build a home, but this tree would provide
enough food,” he said to himself.
But Paul was torn. He knew there was a decision to make. If he returned the apple to the old man, he
would have a place to live but no food and if he didn’t return the apple, he
would have enough food but no place to live.
As he paced, thinking
about what he should do, he saw a small hole in the trunk of the tree that was
barely visible from the tall grass surrounding it but once he pushed aside the
grass, the hole was even larger than he thought.
Intrigued, he took a
closer look and saw the most amazing thing.
Inside the bark of the
tree was the safe haven he was looking for. It was like an underground
bunker, safe from the harsh weather, big enough for his whole family, and
inside the tree that produced enough fruit for his family to survive.
Because no one else
volunteered to climb the tree for the landlord, he knew that no one would come
looking for him if he did not return and with that in mind, he decided not to
go back.
Back at the village,
Paul’s family was anxiously awaiting his arrival. They wanted to be there when Paul was granted
the land, so that they could all celebrate together. They knew that Paul was not one to be afraid
of ghosts and they all knew he would be victorious and face the danger. But as they stood there, they overheard
yelling in the near distance.
“That ignorant beggar!”
exclaimed the landlord. “I knew he couldn’t do it. No one ever
has! Paul and his family will never live on my land!”
Overcome with fear after
what they heard, the family left the village and began searching for
Paul. They made their way to the apple tree, unafraid of anything or
anyone they might run into, including the ghosts. This was last place they knew he’d be.
Panicked, the family
yelled for Paul. “Paul! Paul! Are you here? We’ve
looked everywhere! Please, if you’re out here, come to us!”
Paul heard the cries of
his wife and kids and came running out of the trunk of the tree.
“My family! I have
found shelter for you, here, inside this tree. It will protect us and
feed us for years to come.” “Out here in
this wonderful land, there was no sight of any ghosts, no fear, nothing to scare
us away! The rumors of ghosts had to be
untrue or maybe they knew the plea of a desperate man and decided to let us
stay without conflict.”
His family was
overjoyed.
With tears of happiness
in her eyes, his wife said, “We can’t believe you have found somewhere for us
to live and provide for us. We can’t thank you enough!”
“Before we go inside,
there’s just one more thing I need your help with,” said Paul.
So before they went
inside, with the help of his family, Paul climbed the apple tree and tossed down
six dozen apples to his kids.
Together, Paul and his
family were set. He found an unexpected place for his family to live
without having to put up with the demands from the landlord.
There they lived,
together, protected, and far from hungry.
