Apple Tree Stories

This collection of Apple Tree Stories explores the diverse ways apple trees and their fruits impact lives, convey lessons, and connect to traditions. Each story delves into different themes, from nature’s intricacies to community customs, offering varied perspectives on this familiar tree.

In The Farmer and the Apple-Tree, a farmer learns the hidden value of his apple tree after intending to cut it down, discovering a honey hive and the importance of nurturing all parts of nature. The Proud Little Apple Blossom introduces a young princess who admires apple blossoms, learning that beauty does not determine value when she later includes a humble dandelion in her artwork. Similarly, The Apple’s Treasures explores the lifecycle of an apple, from flower to fruit, highlighting how its structure nurtures future generations through its seeds.

The theme of growth continues in How The Apple Shields Its Young, which explains the protective role of the apple around its seeds, with color and taste signaling ripeness to ensure successful germination. Some Cousins Of The Apple and More Cousins Of The Apple further extend the botanical connections, describing how apples relate to pears, cherries, plums, and peaches as members of the Rose family, while detailing similarities in their blossoms and fruits.

Traditions and community gatherings feature prominently in Apple-Roasting, where villagers share stories around a hearth during an apple-roasting evening. In Wassailing The Apple-trees, the villagers of Appleton celebrate Wassailing to bless their apple trees, pouring spiced brew at the tree roots and sharing tales about magical trees, all to encourage a bountiful harvest. Similarly, The Apple Dumpling follows an old woman as she trades various items in search of an apple, showing the community’s interconnectedness, as she eventually receives her apple after helping others.

In tales of care and dedication, The Four Apple Trees recounts how a man’s four carefully planted apple trees thrive, contrasting with others that suffer due to hasty planting. In a playful story, The Sleeping Apple portrays a child calling to a high-hanging apple until the wind finally helps it fall into the child’s apron.

Finally, the story The Pomegranate, Apple-Tree, and Bramble presents a cautionary lesson in humility, as the Apple-Tree and Pomegranate argue over beauty until a Bramble advises them against their pointless dispute. Each story in this collection provides a distinct look at apple trees’ significance in nature, personal growth, and traditions.