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The story of the old apricot tree
This happened a long time ago, when I was a little girl. My grandmother and grandfather had a small house near the small river Vučica in the village Ladimirevci. One wonderful spring day, my mother and father left me with my grandparents and went shopping. Grandfather was playing with me the whole morning. We were running across the meadows on which thousands of yellow dandelions were blossoming. We were blowing into their little heads and their seed was flying all around us. It seemed as if it was snowing in the middle of a sunny day.
When I got tired my grandmother called us for the meal. She had prepared turkey, a special kind of pastry called mlinci and a cake. There was growing a large apricot tree not far from the terrace, where we were having our meal. Out from the short trunk there were growing three great branches and my grandfather adjusted a plank between them. After lunch, grandfather put a large, soft pillow on the plank and I sat on it.
I leaned my head on the branch and fell asleep. At once, the branches started to swing, the leaves rustled and I got afraid. I heard a strange voice, as if someone was speaking through the wind. “Don’t be afraid, little girl,” said the voice, “that’s me, the old apricot tree. I just want to tell you the story of my youth. You see, when I was young there were neither people living nearby nor were there children breaking my branches. Wild animals were eating my sweet fruits and the fruits of my neighbor, the pear tree. Most of all enjoyed them the she-bear Dina with her baby bears, but also Mr. Jarko. That was the name of a stubborn white goat with a long beard.
Dina and Jarko didn’t love each other very much. Before she started her hibernation, Dina looked for Jarko to eat him and then to sleep quietly the whole winter. In his turn, Jarko couldn’t pass near Dina, while she was sleeping, and not to push her with his horns with might and main. Then he ran away and bleated mockingly from a safe distance.
One day a nice, black, young she-goat arrived. Jarko liked her very much and after a certain time the young goat gave birth to two baby goats with black legs and white bodies. It was a pleasure watching the two baby goats playing with the two baby bears. They were jumping, rolling and running around my trunk and when it became dark the little rogues went to their mummies to have supper and go sleeping.
Such a cheerful situation lasted the whole spring and summer, but the first autumn day it started to rain. It was raining and raining and it couldn’t stop raining. Because of such heavy rains the river Vučica had risen within it’s banks and overflew the whole surrounding, only that hill remained safe. A cold and strong wind was blowing, the water was roaring around us and under my branches gathered the she-goat and her baby goats, the baby bears and their mother Dina, even Mr. Jarko took shelter under my crown. The common disaster brought them closer together, and they all ate pears which Dina brought under my tree and the last apricots, which were juicy, ripe and as sweet as honey. Here you have one, help yourself!
It seemed that everything would be good, but one night something terrible happened. Just before dawn there could be heard cries, shrieking and screaming: “Oh, help us, help!” Everybody was running towards the water and they were astonished by he scene in front of them. During the night one baby-goat and a baby bear woke up and as they were thirsty they went drinking water. Two large fish, pikes, saw them, grabbed the baby goat and the baby bear by the nose and, Oh, God in heaven, they wanted to eat them. Dina and Jarko jumped bravely into the turbid water and started hitting the pikes, Dina with her paws and Jarko with his horns, until they were thrown out of the water, not far from my trunk. The little bear and goat were holding their little noses and crying. Dina got near one of the pikes, pushed her with her paw and said: “Look, what delicious food for the winter.” “Yes” said Jarko “but I don’t eat fish, so I leave this other pike to you, too, and don’t try to eat me ever again.” “O.K.”, answered Dina “and you never try to push me with your horns”. “Just one more time and never again,” said Jarko, run with his head lowered down towards Dina, but she jumped aside and Jarko hit with all his strength into the apricot tree.”
Suddenly, I felt someone touching my face tenderly. I opened my eyes and saw my grandfather. He lifted me up from the ground. I looked to the apricot tree above me and it seemed to me as if the apricot tree was waving to me with it’s branches. Even today I believe that I fell down from the apricot tree at the moment Jarko hit it with his horns.
Grandpa's Tales Page 2