The Apple Tree

Once there was a hobbit couple who lived in their cosy burrow, in a peaceful village at the forest edge. Their life was most uneventful, and they were happy about it. They loved long walks, tales by the fire and picnics in their garden. Their garden was pretty simple, nothing fancy; only a single apple tree stood there. But even though the tree bloomed every year, it didn’t grow any apples.
”Maybe we should cut it down”, the husband said to his wife.
”No, we shouldn’t!” the wife replied. ”I like to lean against that tree while I sit and read my book.”
And so, they let the tree stand there.

One day, they were having another picnic in the garden. It was a hot day, and they sat under the tree, in the cool shadow. ”The juice bottle is empty, my dear”, said the wife. ”Could you please fetch more?”
As the husband went back in, he looked back at his wife. She was leaning against the tree trunk, eyes closed and smiling, holding a cup of juice in her hand. She looked beautiful.

But when the husband came back to the garden, his wife was gone. The cup had fallen on the ground under the tree where she had been sitting. The husband shouted after her and looked everywhere, but there was no sign of her. When she didn’t return by nightfall, the husband got restless.

Next day, he summoned all his neighbours to help him with searching. They combed the woods for the missing hobbit lady, but they found nothing, not a single footprint. The husband didn’t want to give up, though. He searched the whole Shire and even visited his wife’s scary relatives in Staddle, but no one had seen her. Someone started a rumour that the lady had left her husband for another lad or somet. Days and months passed, and it seemed the most probable explanation for anyone. For anyone, except the husband. He knew his wife wouldn’t leave him like that.

Autumn came, and his wife’s birthday. To commemorate his wife, he went to the apple tree where he had last seen her. He laid a bouquet of roses under the tree, and then, he saw something laying on the ground… An apple! And when he looked up, the branches were hanging heavy with red apples. The tree had never grown a single apple before, so it was quite a surprise for the hobbit lad. The apples were quite tasty and made a delicious juice with a sweet taste. But the strange thing was that the first apple always fell from the tree on a certain date: the wife’s birthday.

The hobbit lad started to spend more time in his garden and with the apple tree. On peaceful, warm summer nights he even slept there, and in his dreams, he could hear his lost love singing as she had used to.

Years passed, and the hobbit lad became more certain of it… His wife was somehow trapped inside the apple tree. But how could he free her from the spell? The hobbits were not magicians or wizards and couldn’t deal with magic, he knew. But there was a thing that many Shire hobbits mastered very well: gardening.

So the hobbit lad turned to Master Hamfast Gamgee who was a respected gardener and asked him to take a look at his apple tree.
”It looks like a fine and healthy apple tree to me”, Master Hamfast said as he inspected the tree in the garden. ”What is wrong with it?”
The hobbit lad blushed as he told about his suspicions related to his wife’s disappearance. Master Hamfast frowned but he didn’t say anything. ”I know it sounds crazy”, the hobbit lad said, ”but it disturbs me still. You know some trees might act strange, Master Hamfast.”
”In the Old Forest, yes”, Master Hamfast said and looked at the apple tree, taking a few steps back from it. ”But whatever the case is, I’m afraid that I can’t help you here”, Master Hamfast sighed.
Master Hamfast waved goodbye and was about to leave, when the hobbit lad got an idea.
”I have one question you could answer though”, the hobbit lad said.
”Let me hear it”, said Master Hamfast.
”What do apple trees need to grow apples?” the hobbit lad asked.
Master Hamfast smiled. ”Well, that’s an easy one to answer: they need another apple tree nearby. A lonely apple tree seldom grows apples; they need to be cross pollinated.”
”You mean they need… a partner?” the hobbit lad asked.
”Yes, in a way”, Master Hamfast said and chuckled. ”I could plant you one.”
So Master Hamfast took a seedling from the Appledores and planted it in the hobbit lad’s garden.

Years passed, and the seedling grew bigger and stronger. The hobbit lad tended it the best he could, with Master Hamfast’s advice. Meanwhile, the hobbit lad had grown older himself, but the hope in his heart grew stronger as well.

Then one autumn, he woke up to realise that it was his wife’s birthday again. With his legs shaking and clutching a walking stick, he went to the garden. And on the grass, he saw the first ripe apples lying, fallen from both trees. Amongst them lay the love of his life, sleeping peacefully. Her hair had turned grey and her face was wrinkled like the tree trunk, but she was more beautiful than ever. The husband went to his wife and kissed her, and that’s when she woke up.
”That was a long picnic”, the husband said.
”I am still hungry”, the wife smiled. ”Is it supper time yet?”
So they went inside and had a meal, and probably lived happily ever after.
The end!

Overhill

Overhill is a place of beauty
It's surrounded by emerald trees
All the creatures there seem to love it
Hobbits, otters and small bumble bees

Overhill is
My own favourite place
May it be where
I spend rest of my days

I love walking in the fair old forest
Far away from sorrows and fears
The trees bring me some sweet comfort
It can't be found anywhere else

Overhill is
My own favourite place
May it be where
I spend rest of my days

I don't need much fuss around me
I am happy with undisturbed peace
I wish Overhill never changes
It's my haven guarded by trees

Overhill is
My own favourite place
May it be where
I spend rest of my days

Overhill is
My own favourite place
May it be where
I spend rest of my...
I spend rest of my days

About the song

I was born in Overhill, under the tall pine trees. I have always enjoyed the peace of the woods, so I wrote a song about it. This one is best sung to Calico Skies, a song by Master Macca.

 

Paul McCartney – Calico Skies

Old Forest

A woods as old as the stars in the sky
Trees grown thick since ancient times
Old Forest
Where the trees live oldest

Your bark has hardened with all of the pain
Soothe your wounds with warm summer rain
Old Forest
Where the trees are restless

Oooh...If I could mend your heart
Oooh...You'd feel love
Oooh...Let the sun shine through
Oooh...It'll heal you

There is no evil in those darkened woods
It's just old anger with ancient roots
Old Forest
Where the trees are fearless

Life's full of joy, oh can't you see?
Let your wrath fade and let yourself free
Old Forest
I hope your soul will find rest

Oooh...If I could mend your heart
Oooh...You'd feel love
Oooh...Let the sun shine through
Oooh...It'll heal you

I know there's something good in you too
Even Ol' Tom would say that it's true
Old Forest
I know your soul will find rest

Oooh...If I could mend your heart
Oooh...You'd feel love
Oooh...Let the sun shine through
Oooh...

Oooh...If I could mend your heart
Oooh...You'd feel love
Oooh...Let the sun shine through
Oooh...

If I could mend your heart...

About the song

This is the first song I performed on our Grand Journey Home trip to Enedwaith. I sang it as we stopped at Adso's Camp, near the Old Forest. It is best sung to a tune by Madonna, Frozen.

 

Madonna – Frozen

The Oak Tree

Here is my very first story I told at the Green Dragon. It is about a special tree...

The Oak Tree 

Once there was a hill with two trees. The trees were quite different from each other: the other was a massive and sturdy oak tree, and the other a small, thin cherry tree. The heavy oak tree creaked in the wind, but the cherry tree sung merrily in the breeze, its leaves flapping. Even though these trees were so different from each other, they two were deeply in love with each other. The oak tree provided some shelter for the cherry tree, when it rained and thundered. The cherry tree cheered the big oak tree when the weather was dull. They were happy together, on that hill they shared.

But one day, the happy love met its end. A company of foresters came and felled the cherry tree, because they needed some cherry wood for their woodwork. The oak tree watched how they cut down the cherry tree and took it away. It couldn't do anything against it.

'I am a mere tree, rooted into the ground. I cannot stop them in any way,' it thought sadly.

And alas, the oak tree was all alone on that hill. Alone and angry. A silent wrath begun to build inside the oak tree. It hated everything around it. It had lost its love, and it was unable to forgive it to the world. Every time a squirrel, a bird or any other creature tried to climb up the tree, the tree whipped them down with its branches and drove them away. After a while, no creature came up that hill anymore. The oak tree stood there alone, dwelling in its anger.

Then one day, a young hobbit lad climbed up the hill. The oak tree thought it was another of them foresters, but the lad didn't have an axe, nor did he seek lumber. The lad stood there for while, peering at the distance. The oak tree looked at him with suspicion.

When the oak tree had grown tired of him and wanted to throw one of his acorns at him, the lad whistled and waved at someone he had seen. A young hobbit lass came running up the hill. She run up to the lad and threw her arms around him and kissed him. The two lovers talked, held hands and smiled. But for most of the time, they just sat there together on the grass, looking at each other.

After that, the oak tree saw them come to the hill almost every day. The lovers talked about many things - about how their parents were against their relationship, but how they would still marry each other one day. They talked about having children, a burrow of their own, and other dreams they shared. The oak tree observed it all with amazement. Slowly, its frozen heart began to melt.

Then one day, the two lovers fell asleep under the oak tree, and a storm rose. It was a terrible and powerful summer storm, thunder and lightning, strong winds and piercing rain. When the couple woke up, it was too late to return back safely.
'What to do now?' the lass cried. 'What if the lightning strikes us here up here, on the hill?'
The lad tried to calm her down, but there was fear in his eyes as well.
The oak tree realized their distress, and it wanted to help.
'This time', it thought, 'I won't stay still and watch love die. I have to do something.'

And so it did.
The oak tree gathered all its strength and begun to bend itself towards the ground. The hobbit lass saw what was happening. 'Look!' she shouted. 'The tree is falling!'
'No, it's not falling,' the lad said. 'It is bending itself against the wind, that's unnatural.'
'As if it's doing it on purpose,' the lad whispered.

When the branches of the tree reached the ground, the roots couldn't hold it to the ground any longer. They sprang up from the earth, leaving the tree lying loose. The hobbit lad got an idea. 'We can hide beneath the tree's branches. They'll provide us a great shelter.' And so they crawled beneath the branches, holding on to the trunk. Luckily, they survived the storm, thanks to the fallen tree.

When the storm was over, the two emerged from their shelter, safe and sound. Before returning to their homes, the lad looked at the oak tree.
'Thank you,' he whispered, not knowing, if the tree was even still alive.

Next day, the lovers decided to return to the hill and pay homage to its great sacrifice which had saved them both. But when they went up the hill, the tree was gone.
There was only a massive hole in the ground where the tree had stood, no roots or branches to be seen. No one was sure what happened to it, but as you may know, sometimes even trees can act strangely.

After a while, there was a big fuss in one of the Southfarthing villages. A great oak tree had emerged from out of nowhere, standing in the middle of the main square. People felt a bit anxious about it for a while, but they got used to it. Birds and squirrels loved that tree, and it provided a great shelter for the rain. The village folk made it their party tree, and numerous festivities took place around that tree. The people used to say it was the happiest tree of them all. It really seemed to love all the music and life that surrounded it. And indeed, it was the happiest tree of them all. Maybe it's the tree in your village, who knows?