8/8/2019 The Kingdom of the Two Trees

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THE KINGDOM OF THE TWO TREES.

Once upon a time, far, far away there was a kingdom in which a young king refused to honour the wisdom

of a powerful wizard. The wizard, who was old beyond reckoning, was also angry beyond belief and in his

wrath he planted two indestructible seeds in the palace courtyard.

Behold, said the bent old man to the proud king. I have given two seeds to the kingdom. Both will

grow, but one will remain small, while the other will tower beyond the reach of thy kingdom. One tree is

called Hope and the other Despair. The mightiest tree will bend thy kingdom to its nature.

The king laughed at the old man and chased him from the courtyard.

The following morning both trees stood knee-high. The king wanted to transplant the trees as they stoodwhere his carriage would park, but try as they will the trees would not be dug up. As a labourer emptied

his spade of soil the hole would fill again. The king said, There are many trees in the kingdom. Chop

them down, but axe upon axe was blunted. Fire would not touch the saplings either, and by evening the

king saw that he would have to find other parking for his chariot.

Now the people of the kingdom became wicked and mean, likened unto their king. Thus the tree of despairsoon outgrew the tree of hope so that by summer the entire courtyard was covered by the limbs of the tree

of despair. In its shadow nothing but brambles and thorns grew and in its limbs an ill-aspected wind

howled day and night, driving everyone to madness, so that finally the king ordered the court-yard closed

and another built on the other side of the castle.

Every time a child was naughty a new shoot would bud and every time something was stolen its roots

would be strengthened. In time it covered the kingdom from edge to edge and evil ruled the land. Despair

gripped the hearts of men and the guardians of the land lost all hope.The king went on a tour of his kingdom the following winter and wept when he saw the children drunk in

the filthy streets, the young women given to whoredom and the young men to banditry. Everywhere there

were broken fences, shattered windows and bottles and discarded rubbish in the streets. The king realized

his kingdom was dying.

In desperation he sent his mightiest warrior to find the wizard and beg him for help.

When the wizard returned to the palace the king went on his knees and wept bitter tears of misery for his

land. Exalted wizard, please lift the curse from my land and I will honour thy wisdom until the end of

time, he begged.

The stern visage of the wizard softened and he helped the king to his feet. Stop feeding the wrong tree,the wizard said.

The king listened intently while the wizard explained. Every time a window was wrecked or someonepainted vile words on a wall, or threw debris in the street it fed the tree of despair. Every time someone

fixed a window or picked up a scrap of paper or discarded bottle or removed the ugly words painted by

uncouth children the tree of hope would grow and the tree of despair would be weakened.

The following morning a proclamation went forth from the castle. Fix every broken window by

nightfall. The criers went from town to town spreading the word, and the sun set that night on a land

where every shattered pane had been replaced. For the first time in months the wind stopped blowing.

The morning after, the tree of hope stood man-high and the leaves on the tree of despair were withered.

The king smiled and proclaimed, Paint over the repulsive words by nightfall. Again the criers were sent

forth and his words were made law.

When the sun came out of hiding the next morning it shone through a cloudless sky and greeted the tree of

hope that was now standing house-high. The tree of despair was visibly drooping and its limbs were not as

mighty as once they were.

The king was jubilant and proclaimed, Clean the streets. And so it was.

Every morning for the entire season he issued proclamations and his word was law in the land, and the

entire kingdom rejoiced. The tree of despair shrank to a small shrub and the tree of hope sent its mighty

branches until it covered the kingdom from edge to edge. In its gentle shadows flowers burst forth from the

land and birds sang in rapturous joy at the pleasures of life.

The wizard said to the king, The tree of despair can never be destroyed, but it can be managed. Take thee

care that thou and thy subjects only feed the tree of hope. In its shadows thy land will thrive.

The king took good heed of these words and his kingdom prospered and grew wealthy with loyal subjects

who looked kindly upon one another.