THE VERY BEST TREE
One Tuesday, in the most magnificent garden ever, a wise woman sat by a lake and painted. The garden had every imaginable tree and flower and plant and even some you have not even imagined yet!
The paint was flowing smoothly when the wise woman heard a group of children fighting bitterly. She looked at them for the longest time and then went back to her painting.
Suddenly one of the children saw her and yelled at the others, ”She'll know!” and they all came running over to her spot in the sun.
They went quiet and shuffled their feet in the dirt while she calmly looked them over.
“What is it you would like to know?”, she asked in her dark brown voice.
There was silence until one child got up his courage, “We want to know which one of us is the best.” he muttered digging his big toe into the grass and looking at her paintbrush instead of her face.
“Oho,” replied the wise woman, “and have you decided?”
“No,” the children chorused, “that is why we are fighting. Can you tell us?”
The wise woman looked at them intently for a long, long while and they fidgeted and looked away and fiddled their fingers, feeling very nervous.
A whimsical smile curved her lips as she answered, “ Absolutely, but first you have to do something for me.”
The children eagerly agreed to do anything she wanted if she would only settle the question. Each child was firmly convinced that she would pick them and not any other.
“Here is your job and you must do it very, very carefully. Go out into the garden and look at every tree. You need to find the very best tree in the garden. At sundown , come back to me with your answer.”
The children scattered and the wise woman went back to painting.
They spent the day hunting for the very best tree. At sundown, they gathered back at the lake. The wise woman waited for the last child to arrive before she looked up from her painting.
“Well? Who has the right answer?”
All the children started to speak at once.
“One at a time.” she laughed over the noise and pointed at a serious, little girl in the front.
Biza was happy to be chosen because she knew the answer. She came from the hot, dry veld of Africa and as soon as she saw the Acacia tree in the garden, she remembered how the Acacia tree gave the only shade on those vast, sun-drenched plains.
It was vital to have shade. Obviously the Acacia tree was the best tree in the world, without it you would dry up like dust and blow away!
“The Acacia tree is the very best.” she said.
The wise woman nodded several times and said, “I thought you might say that.”
“Now, you.” She pointed to Pei.
Pei grinned and replied immediately, “The very best tree has to be the Mango tree.”
He remembered the luscious fruit quenching his thirst at his home in Asia. His mouth watered as he thought about feasting on ripe mangoes. Without the Mango tree you might starve – clearly, it was the best tree!
The wise woman nodded several times and said, “I thought you might say that.”
“Now, you.” She pointed to Nada.
Nada was a shy, little girl with long black hair. In a tiny little voice she said, “The very best tree is the Banyan.”
In her home town, there was a grove of Banyan trees that wound around each other and twined to and fro, all over the town square. They were a living example of community. Supporting your people is everything – the Banyan was given to the world to remind people to hug and love their families – what could possibly be better than that?
The wise woman nodded several times and said, “I thought you might say that.”
“Now, you.” She pointed to Paul.
He was quite sure and answered in a strong voice - “The very best tree is the Oak.”
He thought back on the powerful Oaks of England, on their majestic shapes and deeply rooted strength. The Oak was a living example of power. With the power of an Oak, a man could do anything at all – naturally the very best!
The wise woman nodded several times and said, “I thought you might say that.”
“Now, you.” She pointed to Sana.
Sana's smile highlighted her wide cheekbones as she said, “The very best tree is, of course, the Redwood.”
Redwoods tower all the way to the heavens. Sana thought they were the earth's fingers pointing to the sky, inspiring the world to look up for hope. Without hope life has no meaning. The Redwood was by far, the very best tree.
The wise woman nodded several times and said, “I thought you might say that.”
For a while, the wise woman was quiet. She looked tenderly into each child's eyes.
“The Acacia gives us shade.
The Mango gives us food.
The Banyan shows us love.
The Oak shows us power.
The Redwood gives us hope.
Can you see that each one of these is vitally important to the child that knows it?
Each one of you is vital to the world that knows you.
How splendid that you each bring us a different gift.”
