Between the mountains of Jealousy and Perseverance stood a lone cherry tree. In the early days, when people lived simple lives off the land, many villagers would hike to the Cherry tree to pick its fruit. This pleased the Cherry tree, as it often felt lonely.
"How nice of you to bear cherries all year," someone commended.
"We don't have to worry about food or drink thanks to you." Another said.
While the adults enjoyed the fruit, the children did not.
"Your cherries are too sour." They often said.
So the Cherry tree tried and tried for many months, until eventually it finally mastered making sweet cherries. This made the children happy, and they began spending more time with the tree, sleeping in its shade or climbing through its branches.
For many years, the Cherry tree stood between the two mountains, bearing much fruit, and for generations, the villagers praised the tree for it. But over time, the tree grew haughty. To "conserve its energy," the tree bore less fruit. Where once it kept its branches low and wide so that everyone could pick the fruits easily, gradually the tree raised its branches, keeping the fruit high and out of reach. To stop the children from climbing, the tree intertwined its branches, and when that didn't deter them, it grew long, sharp thorns.
Naturally, not being able to harvest much fruit, many villagers stopped visiting the tree. Some villagers tried to grow new cherry trees in its shade to bring back to the village. But the greedy tree used its roots to drink all the water in the ground. When that didn't stop the seedlings, the tree shook its branches, dropping leaves that smothered them.
Unlike trees, humans move away from where they were born. Soon there were more opportunities in the big towns, and the villagers left to start new lives without needing to live off the land.
In the once-thriving village, there was only a couple who visited the tree once a week. The couple were old and frail. The hike to the tree and picking the fruit proved too much for them.
One day, after heavy rains, the couple hiked to the tree. Still, the haughty tree did not bend its branches to help them. The old man's boot slipped on the wet leaves beneath the tree when he reached for the high-hanging fruit. Trying to stop his fall, the man grabbed his wife, who also lost her footing. The couple fell down the hill and rolled into a ditch at the bottom; their bodies lay broken and lifeless.
Later, when the couple's children found them, they were furious. They cursed and spat at the tree. Among themselves, they decided it was best to destroy the Cherry tree. From the town, they came with chainsaws and axes. They cut the tree right down and poisoned its roots. Its wood, they took and used to make a pyre for their parents.
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