Dodo Eggs

There is a small apple orchard in Washington State on the framed by the beautiful peaks of the Cascades.  The vibrant greens of the orchard only vary in shade depending on the weather.  With dark skies filled with rain, the trees and grass take on a deep, quiet teal like that of thick mosses.  On days where sunlight glides earthward on brilliant beams, the orchard becomes an lighter, more active, vibrant green.

Through this place runs a mountain stream fed with the pure snow of the mountains.  It ebbs through the wild pines of an evergreen forest before quenching the orchard’s thirst.  And from the home of the orchard’s owner a dirt road stretches directly to the lazy town of Fruitcake, Washington.

In the middle of the trees, an old wooden house crowned a small rise in the grassy earth.  The farmer, his wife, and their two sons live there as caretakers of the apple trees.  When harvest time arrives every year, they separate the tasty apples, which are to be sold, from the few spoiled rotten ones.  It is tradition for the boys to play catch with the bad apples then throw them into the forest for the wild animals to eat.

Of course, the wild animals also have a yearning for the good apples.  To keep them in the forest, the family has employed a fearsome animal that resembles a dog but in temperament is more like a bear.  It was a Labrador retriever with long legs and a strong jaw they called Crank.

Crank slept during the day and patrolled the trees by moonlight.  For years, the dog protected the trees especially the fruit produced by a special tree called Grande.  Grande’s apples were the biggest, the reddest, and juiciest of the entire orchard.

On the very top of Grande’s branches lived two apples.  One was huge, red, and beautiful, catching the eye of every man and raccoon that lived near the orchard.  But the small one beside it lacked whatever the large apple had in excess.  The small apple was tiny, and ugly maroon color, and dented on one side.  Once the small one fell, it was sure to be tossed between the boys then cast into the forest for the raccoons.

The large apple thought little of the small apple, and usually teased the small apple about its size.  Other apples would join in the fun making the small apple feel worthless.  This constant teasing usually just made the small apple cover up with the biggest leaf it could find.

One day, a raccoon came upon the edge of the orchard and saw old Grande.  More important to him, however, was the treasure at the top.   His eyes grew wide and is mouth watered.  He imagined the scent and the tart sensations playing along his tongue.  That night he made an attempt to reach Grande but was chased back into the forest by Crank.  But the raccoon was smarter than the others of his kind.  He would come during the day.  When the sun lured other raccoons to sleep, he would try for the big apple.

Dawn came to the valley and with it weight came upon Crank’s eyes.  He trotted back to his house and fell asleep.

The boys and their father hadn’t made it out of the house yet and hence there was no one watching Grande.  It worked perfectly in the raccoon’s favor.  He quickly reached the tree and began skillfully climbing.  

By the time the raccoon was halfway to the tree, the apples noticed his presence.  The large apple yelled louder than any other apple because he knew he was the apple the raccoon would devour first.  The small apple was wake and filled with alarm as well but he knew that there was little danger of the raccoon taking it.

Being an expert climber, the hungry raccoon reached the top of Grande with surprising speed.

Seeing that the raccoon was inches away from seizing the large apple, the small apple made a choice that would cost him his only chance at being one the fine apples that would be shipped to Fruitcake.  As the expectant claws of the raccoon easily stretched for the big apple, the little one plucked itself from the tree.  It fell the raccoon’s nose with surprising force.  The raccoon lost its balance and was unable to recover.  He landed with a thump at the base of Grande.

This is the end of the story for the hungry raccoon, for within moments Crank had him in his jaws.

The story for both apples, however, had just begun.  The large apple eventually developed a terrible case of worms, and at harvest the old man’s boys could think of nothing better to do with it than to play catch.  The end for the tiny apple was quite different.

When it hit the ground, it rolled away from Grande and into an abandoned rabbit hole.  As the seasons went on, a new tree stood in the orchard.  The seed from the small apple had now grown into a tall, strong, and healthy tree, giving some of the best apples in the orchard, and providing the boys shade from the hot summer son to play catch.

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• Three Knights (I)
• Nobo
• Ioda – The Mischievous Dragon (Part 1)
• The New Age for Beginners