Our story begins with a seed.
Yes-yes! With a usual pine seed!
Have you ever seen such a seed? It is small, with one transparent golden wing. Many such seeds ripen in a mom-cone. Many cones grow every year on their mother-pine!
When the seeds are mature, the mom-cone lifts its scales, and these seeds fly around for new pines to be born and grow.
… So, once the wind had blown — our little seed flew, catching the airflow by its little wing.
“How beautiful and great is the world!” — the seed thought. — “How light and spacious! And I — can fly!”
“No, it is I that can fly,” — said the wind which carried the seed. — “I am carrying you! You have only one wing, so you yourself cannot fly like a bird or a butterfly.”
"Thank you!” — the seed responded. — “I am very grateful to you! I like to fly!”
“But this is not your destiny — to fly. You must sprout; you can become a wonderful pine! Choose a place where you would like to become a pine tree! And when you grow up, I will fly to visit you and play in your branches, so that you do not get bored.”
“Here! I like this high sandy bank of the river! Here, when I grow up, I will see the whole Earth!”
“Well, but not the whole Earth! The Earth — it is much more than you can see! But the place is really good,” — the wind agreed.
And, with these words, the wind gently lowered his seed into a small pit on the favored site and, creating light vortex, sprinkled it with soil.
“Thank you!…” — almost inaudibly whispered seed goodbye. — “How I am tired today! How I want to sleep!…”
So seed slept, nestled by the soil, until a small root and sprout had appeared.
And then our pine was born in the light above the ground.
Have you ever seen newborn pines?
They are less than little blades. They have thin thread-like green stem. And at the top, several tiny soft and tender needles are sticking up.
Our pine had five of them!
It spread them gaily: “I was born! I am now — the pine!”
… As time went on, our pine grew. It was lucky: it was not washed away by rain, it received sufficient sunlight and heat, and moisture.
It seemed felt a lifetime: “I — really grow up!”.
After a few years, already the tree stood conspicuously on the bank of the river.
As time went on…
On the branches of the pine, birds began to sing. The pine gladly listened to their songs.
The wind often visited it, flying on this bank of the river.
In winter, the snow wrapped it up. In summer, a pleasant heat warmed its body and juices — to grow faster!
Yes, it wanted to become stronger and more — to caress by branches the blue sky with white clouds!
It grew up faster and faster every year, growing new fluffy branches. Soon its trunk became slender and strong, covered with orange-golden crust.
By the banks of the river, often resorted kids from a nearby village. Undressed, they jumped into the water and had fun, splashing, swimming…
Sometimes the pine also wanted, like them, having fun, laughing, to run on sand and flop into the river… But the pine did not know how to run… And it has learned to be happy for others, along with them. And when happy children’s voices and laughter filled the air above the river — the pine was happy too, sending them by each needle waves of happy love…
But once there was a story when the pine cognized that people are different…
… The older guys came on the shore. It was cold, and they decided to make a campfire… But they were too lazy to collect dry branches and fallen trunks… They decided to cut our pine and make a campfire of it…
“It is quite large and resinous, will burn bright!” — said one of them.
The pine shook…
Suddenly a little boy, who often came here to the beach to swim, shaded the pine with his body: “Do not touch it, it is — living, it will hurt! If you want, I’ll carry for you dry branches! Look, how many dry branches are in this forest! And you can go along the beach and collect the ejected by flow and dried pieces of wood… I can collect it for you, if you want! Just do not hurt this pine!…”
Older boys laughed, pushed the younger so that he fell: “Don’t bother, Basil! Get out! Look at him: a tree will feel pain! You say like a little girl!”
But the boy Basil (the pine now knew the name of its little friend) rose from the ground and again overshadowed the pine: “Do not touch it! It is — alive!”
So much intrepidity was in his words that the older boys retreated.
To not show their defeat, they told Basil to bring firewood. And they were mocking him…
Basil, not paying attention to the ridicule, was glad that he was able to save the pine…
… Time ran unnoticed. The pine grew, became stronger. Basil also grew. He often came to it on the shore. He sat with his back to its warm from sunlight trunk, and dreamed of something good.
Or he just listened to the silence.
And our pine faded with happiness at such moments and tried not to disturb him.
It also listened to the clear silence.
And the silence — it was surrounding both the pine, and Basil, and covered the sandy beach, and was inside the far forest…
The water of the river gurgled softly in the silence, without disturbing it, but decorating it…
The river carried its water somewhere far, far away — where never were either the pine, or Basil… But when they were immersed in the river’s quiet and swam down with river’s water, it seemed that distant lands and unknown worlds were here, near…
And the soft golden Light of Someone infinitely Great and Good — became visible in the silence…
… As time went on…
Basil now often came to the beach with the girl with golden braids. The girl, too, has grown and become slim and beautiful. The pine now knew that the name of the girl was Olga.
Basil and Olga made appointments for themselves near our pine. And the pine saw how gradually flared big and true love.
The pine was not jealous. It loved them both and rejoiced together with them the beautiful miracle of love.
… Everything was good…
But once, on a hot and muggy summer day, Olga bathed in the river. But the blue-black storm-clouds had formed in the sky from all sides. The lightning flashed, rolls of thunder got closer.
The pine worried… It always felt uneasy when flares occurred between sky and earth, and thunder shook the area around. But here Olga had taken in head to swim!…
The pine never left its seat above the river. But it had seen more than once, as lightning during heavy storms hit into the water, saw even once as lightning struck a lone tree on the other side of the river, the tree caught fire…
The pine worried and tried to wave its branches in the wind. It was trying to warn Olga: “The thunderstorm comes, the lightning will strike!”
At this time, Basil had run ashore: “Olga! What are you doing?! Now the storm begins! Let’s run home quickly!”
While Olga got ashore and dressed, already rain started. And lightning strikes and thunder were getting closer, closer…, quite near… Such a severe thunderstorm in our pine’s century has never been…
The pine suddenly felt that the lightning can currently strike those whom it loved so much. It straightened up its branches — and they caught deadly flame! Basil threw himself on the sand, covering Olga. The crown of the pine blazed up…
“How I would like to be born as man — to love like these people…” — the pine had time to think, until the flame engulfed it whole…
It plunged into the Light — the Light of that Infinitely Great and Good…
Yes-yes! With a usual pine seed!
Have you ever seen such a seed? It is small, with one transparent golden wing. Many such seeds ripen in a mom-cone. Many cones grow every year on their mother-pine!
When the seeds are mature, the mom-cone lifts its scales, and these seeds fly around for new pines to be born and grow.
… So, once the wind had blown — our little seed flew, catching the airflow by its little wing.
“How beautiful and great is the world!” — the seed thought. — “How light and spacious! And I — can fly!”
“No, it is I that can fly,” — said the wind which carried the seed. — “I am carrying you! You have only one wing, so you yourself cannot fly like a bird or a butterfly.”
"Thank you!” — the seed responded. — “I am very grateful to you! I like to fly!”
“But this is not your destiny — to fly. You must sprout; you can become a wonderful pine! Choose a place where you would like to become a pine tree! And when you grow up, I will fly to visit you and play in your branches, so that you do not get bored.”
“Here! I like this high sandy bank of the river! Here, when I grow up, I will see the whole Earth!”
“Well, but not the whole Earth! The Earth — it is much more than you can see! But the place is really good,” — the wind agreed.
And, with these words, the wind gently lowered his seed into a small pit on the favored site and, creating light vortex, sprinkled it with soil.
“Thank you!…” — almost inaudibly whispered seed goodbye. — “How I am tired today! How I want to sleep!…”
So seed slept, nestled by the soil, until a small root and sprout had appeared.
And then our pine was born in the light above the ground.
Have you ever seen newborn pines?
They are less than little blades. They have thin thread-like green stem. And at the top, several tiny soft and tender needles are sticking up.
Our pine had five of them!
It spread them gaily: “I was born! I am now — the pine!”
… As time went on, our pine grew. It was lucky: it was not washed away by rain, it received sufficient sunlight and heat, and moisture.
It seemed felt a lifetime: “I — really grow up!”.
After a few years, already the tree stood conspicuously on the bank of the river.
As time went on…
On the branches of the pine, birds began to sing. The pine gladly listened to their songs.
The wind often visited it, flying on this bank of the river.
In winter, the snow wrapped it up. In summer, a pleasant heat warmed its body and juices — to grow faster!
Yes, it wanted to become stronger and more — to caress by branches the blue sky with white clouds!
It grew up faster and faster every year, growing new fluffy branches. Soon its trunk became slender and strong, covered with orange-golden crust.
By the banks of the river, often resorted kids from a nearby village. Undressed, they jumped into the water and had fun, splashing, swimming…
Sometimes the pine also wanted, like them, having fun, laughing, to run on sand and flop into the river… But the pine did not know how to run… And it has learned to be happy for others, along with them. And when happy children’s voices and laughter filled the air above the river — the pine was happy too, sending them by each needle waves of happy love…
But once there was a story when the pine cognized that people are different…
… The older guys came on the shore. It was cold, and they decided to make a campfire… But they were too lazy to collect dry branches and fallen trunks… They decided to cut our pine and make a campfire of it…
“It is quite large and resinous, will burn bright!” — said one of them.
The pine shook…
Suddenly a little boy, who often came here to the beach to swim, shaded the pine with his body: “Do not touch it, it is — living, it will hurt! If you want, I’ll carry for you dry branches! Look, how many dry branches are in this forest! And you can go along the beach and collect the ejected by flow and dried pieces of wood… I can collect it for you, if you want! Just do not hurt this pine!…”
Older boys laughed, pushed the younger so that he fell: “Don’t bother, Basil! Get out! Look at him: a tree will feel pain! You say like a little girl!”
But the boy Basil (the pine now knew the name of its little friend) rose from the ground and again overshadowed the pine: “Do not touch it! It is — alive!”
So much intrepidity was in his words that the older boys retreated.
To not show their defeat, they told Basil to bring firewood. And they were mocking him…
Basil, not paying attention to the ridicule, was glad that he was able to save the pine…
… Time ran unnoticed. The pine grew, became stronger. Basil also grew. He often came to it on the shore. He sat with his back to its warm from sunlight trunk, and dreamed of something good.
Or he just listened to the silence.
And our pine faded with happiness at such moments and tried not to disturb him.
It also listened to the clear silence.
And the silence — it was surrounding both the pine, and Basil, and covered the sandy beach, and was inside the far forest…
The water of the river gurgled softly in the silence, without disturbing it, but decorating it…
The river carried its water somewhere far, far away — where never were either the pine, or Basil… But when they were immersed in the river’s quiet and swam down with river’s water, it seemed that distant lands and unknown worlds were here, near…
And the soft golden Light of Someone infinitely Great and Good — became visible in the silence…
… As time went on…
Basil now often came to the beach with the girl with golden braids. The girl, too, has grown and become slim and beautiful. The pine now knew that the name of the girl was Olga.
Basil and Olga made appointments for themselves near our pine. And the pine saw how gradually flared big and true love.
The pine was not jealous. It loved them both and rejoiced together with them the beautiful miracle of love.
… Everything was good…
But once, on a hot and muggy summer day, Olga bathed in the river. But the blue-black storm-clouds had formed in the sky from all sides. The lightning flashed, rolls of thunder got closer.
The pine worried… It always felt uneasy when flares occurred between sky and earth, and thunder shook the area around. But here Olga had taken in head to swim!…
The pine never left its seat above the river. But it had seen more than once, as lightning during heavy storms hit into the water, saw even once as lightning struck a lone tree on the other side of the river, the tree caught fire…
The pine worried and tried to wave its branches in the wind. It was trying to warn Olga: “The thunderstorm comes, the lightning will strike!”
At this time, Basil had run ashore: “Olga! What are you doing?! Now the storm begins! Let’s run home quickly!”
While Olga got ashore and dressed, already rain started. And lightning strikes and thunder were getting closer, closer…, quite near… Such a severe thunderstorm in our pine’s century has never been…
The pine suddenly felt that the lightning can currently strike those whom it loved so much. It straightened up its branches — and they caught deadly flame! Basil threw himself on the sand, covering Olga. The crown of the pine blazed up…
“How I would like to be born as man — to love like these people…” — the pine had time to think, until the flame engulfed it whole…
It plunged into the Light — the Light of that Infinitely Great and Good…
* * *
Later Basil and Olga had married. On the spot where our pine was growing, which had saved them from the lightning, they planted a new pine. The new tree was now already green, and it was stretching up to the sun.
In the family of Basil and Olga the daughter was born.
But it will be already another story: the story not about the pine, but about a girl with amber-golden eyes, who is similar a bit to our pine, a little bit — to Olga, and a little bit — to Basil. And, of course, it is also the story about love.
After all, it is love that unites souls and leads them to the Perfection!
In the family of Basil and Olga the daughter was born.
But it will be already another story: the story not about the pine, but about a girl with amber-golden eyes, who is similar a bit to our pine, a little bit — to Olga, and a little bit — to Basil. And, of course, it is also the story about love.
After all, it is love that unites souls and leads them to the Perfection!
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