They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away. But, an apple a day keeps everyone away if you throw it hard enough.
I bear the most nutritious, popular, and tasty fruits in the world. The fresh red apples on my branches delight every passer-by. I, an apple tree, offer apples that are not only tasty and nutritious but also used for apple juice that is equally tasty and healthy. An apple symbolizes knowledge, immortality, future happiness and well-being. I am a kind of tree that can sustain anywhere in the world. Some studies have also proven that apples contain no fat or sodium and have no cholesterol as well.
As of now, the children are playing near me, and the birds are heading toward their homes. What a scenic dusk this is! I feel so blissful to be a part of this lovely park that dots other beautiful trees as well. The grass sways gracefully, and the Sun is taking his dip in the nearby river. Though I am old, I am still firm. I have many branches which are always full of green leaves. Whenever I hear the pleasant sound of the breeze, I like to recall my early days. Let me share some of my ‘peelings’ with you.
I have a vague recollection of my birth. Around twenty years ago, it was a group of children who had planted me. In the next week, I had sprung up, eager to grow up. “You are born to spread happiness, health, and holiness. Stand tall and offer everyone the fruit of divinity,” whispered the Mother Earth to me. Although the children hardly used to water me, I prevailed by myself, thanks to the rainfall and sunlight. I was a small plant initially. I befriended some of the grass and other trees in the park. The children used to pluck off my leaves and play with them. I had to create my food by synthesis. Thanks to good water, sunlight, and nutrients, I started to grow healthy after a couple of months.
Over the years, I grew magnificent and started blooming flowers. However, I was still waiting for my first apple. It took weeks for me to bring an end to my wait. My first apple brought a genuine smile of happiness to my face and joy to other people. I felt like I was gifted an apple from the heaven itself. After all, what they say is true: The sweetest fruit comes after the toughest wait. Gradually, some more apples grew, and I got vibrant. The children often used to pluck off my apples. It takes me the energy of fifty leaves to produce one single apple. But it takes only a couple of seconds for you to pluck them off. I was so delighted to offer the best apples that would bring smiles to people of all ages.
But, it happened one day that I caught an infectious disease. While being so nutritious, there came a time when I had to plead for my treatment. When a gardener examined me thoroughly, he noticed that I had got infected with a tree disease called “Apple Scab.” My leaves and fruits had lost their charm. I was not able to grow the best apples. It took some time for the gardener to cure my disease with fungicides, medicines and nursing. To my good fortune, I started showing signs of recovery after some time. I regained my charm.
Since I am such a nutritious tree, countless superstitions about me also exist. Some people never clean up the fallen apples of the tree as a holy offering to the fairies and goddesses. Another superstition says that it is unlucky to build a boat out of an apple tree’s wood just because, earlier, people used this wood to manufacture coffins. However I nowhere have malevolent intentions and aspire to always keep spreading joy with my elixir of nature.
Before I go to my peaceful sleep, take my tiny piece of advice: stand tall; radiate happiness, and let your dreams ripen. The one who dares to climb me gets the most delicious fruit, but the one who eats the fallen apples always gets the rotten ones.
The one who dares to climb me gets the most delicious fruit, but the one who eats the fallen apples always gets the rotten ones.
