The Children and the Kingshook Tree In a land that is far away in time,
But quite near in your imagination,
There lived a family with four children.
This family lived in a large home surrounded by a garden that provided vegetables to eat,
Enough flowers to decorate every room in the home,
And trees for shelter,
Play,
And beauty.
The gardener,
Jury,
Was an elder who loved to share the wisdom harvested from many years of living.
The children spent time with Jury every day listening to Jury tell stories and offer information about plants,
Animals,
And nature.
The moon,
Stars,
And planets,
History,
And folk tales.
From this they learned so much that when they went to school,
What the other students thought was work seemed like play to them.
They were eager and open to learning.
One day,
Jury told them of the Kingshook Tree,
A tree so magnificent it was invisible.
But that is impossible.
How do you know it is magnificent if it's invisible?
Asked Bako,
The oldest child.
Because the Kingshook Tree becomes visible to those who see it on their birthday,
And I have traveled on my birthday more than once,
And can tell you that out of all the trees that I care for in this garden,
I have never seen a tree so spectacular.
Bako spoke up.
My birthday is in ten days.
Do you remember where the Kingshook Tree is,
And can you please take me there on that day?
After a breath,
Jury said,
Yes,
I remember,
And yes,
I will take you to see the tree.
The other siblings,
Akin,
Adriel,
And Luna,
Spoke up all at once,
Asking the same question.
Would Jury please take them to see the Kingshook Tree for their birthdays,
Please?
Jury cautioned them.
It is a bit of a journey.
Not too far,
But far enough that it will be an hour's walk to the tree,
And then an hour home.
Are you willing to put that effort in to see something so beautiful that you will remember it forever?
All four children said,
Yes,
Yes,
Yes!
You must make me one promise,
Jury said.
You may not speak of the tree and what you saw until all four of you have seen the tree.
You may say it was worth the journey and that it was beautiful,
But you may not tell anyone exactly why the tree is so splendid.
Can you keep that promise?
Of course we can!
Ten days later,
On a beautiful spring morning before the sun rose,
Bako and Jury set out to find the Kingshook Tree.
They walked through meadows,
By streams,
Rock walls,
And by farms and villages,
Until they came to a wood.
There was no path,
But walking through the wood was easy,
As there was no underbrush,
Vines,
Or twigs to get in their way.
In the center of the wood,
There was a small clearing,
And just as the sun was coming over the tops of the trees,
Bako saw the Kingshook Tree.
It was tall and strong,
Its branches were even,
Like a harmonious design,
And everywhere were small vibrant green leaves,
So many different shades of green that it shimmered as if it was covered in jewels.
Blue greens,
Yellow greens,
Emerald greens,
Sea greens.
Bako smiled at the sight of it.
Both Jury and Bako stayed by the tree for some time before walking home.
When the other children asked Bako about the tree,
They heard,
Just go and see it!
A few months later,
It was Adriel's birthday.
Jury always kept promises,
So on a hot summer's day,
The two set out to see the Kingshook Tree.
When they arrived at the clearing,
Adriel gasped at the stunning picture of the Kingshook Tree covered in rich blue and white tinted blossoms with yellow centers.
Adriel lay down under the tree in order to look up through the branches at the layers and layers of blossoms.
Then the two walked back home.
It was Akin's birthday next.
Having heard how beautiful the Kingshook Tree was from Bako and Adriel,
Akin wanted to linger by the tree and so insisted on leaving after lunch so hunger wouldn't get in the way.
When Jury and Akin reached the tree,
Akin was breathless at the sight.
For now,
The Kingshook Tree was covered with plump,
Round purple fruit.
Even the Kingshook Tree's strong branches bowed a little from the weight of the lush fruit,
So rich in color.
Akin chose to sit at a distance from the tree to take in all of its bounty before going home.
Finally,
It was little Luna's birthday.
Luna had waited so long and wanted to have a very special experience of the Kingshook Tree,
So she asked Jury to take her at night.
It was winter,
So both Luna and Jury bundled up in warm sweaters and coats,
Even long underwear.
There happened to be a full moon that night,
So the path was well lit.
When they got to the clearing,
Luna saw the kind of magic that only nature creates.
The Kingshook Tree's branches were covered in frost and iced,
Which glittered in the moonlight.
It was so beautiful.
Luna cried joyful tears,
As Jury had to wipe away so they wouldn't freeze.
On their return home,
The other children were waiting for Luna and Jury.
Oh,
Their parents would not have liked that at all,
But this was something that happened just once in a lifetime.
Now they could share about the Kingshook Tree.
What was it like,
Luna?
I'm still trying to put that beautiful sight into words.
You go first,
Bako.
You saw it first.
Bako began by describing the green leaves,
But was interrupted by Adriel.
No,
You're wrong.
There were blue and white tinted blossoms with yellow centers.
Aiken spoke up next.
That cannot be.
I saw exquisite plump purple fruit.
Then Luna said,
But I saw crystal frost on bare branches in the moonlight.
They all stopped and asked the same question.
Did they see different trees?
Jury smiled.
No,
You saw the same tree,
But at different times of the year.
Of course,
It had never occurred to them that each child had a birthday in a different season.
Bako in spring,
Adriel in summer,
Aiken in fall,
And Luna in winter.
The children realized that no one was wrong.
They laughed and understood that the Kingshook Tree,
Like everything else,
Could only be really understood if they shared their observations about it with each other.
If they listened to each other the way they listened to Jury.
And that we may never truly understand the truth about anything until we have listened to all sides of a story.
End
