Folktale
Pip the apple seed boy
Once upon a time, there was a husband and wife. They lived on an apple farm, and were very happy together. However, they wanted a child but were unable to have one
They traveled to see an herbalist who lived in the woods. They asked her for help. With a smile, the herbalist asked, “Do you have any fresh fruit?” The husband and wife looked confused, but the husband reached into his bag and took out an apple that he had picked that morning and handed it to the herbalist. The herbalist took the apple and began mixing many different things from her shelves into a bowl. She then dipped the apple in the strange mixture, and the apple shone brightly. The herbalist said to the wife, “When you get home eat this whole apple core and all, except for a single pip. Plant the pip in your garden, somewhere it will be safe. If you do this, you will have a child.” The husband and wife didn’t if they should believe the herbalist, but they paid her for her service thanked her. Then they went back home not knowing if the herbalist’s potion would work.
When they got home, the wife did exactly what the herbalist had said. She took out the apple and ate the whole thing, careful to remove one of the pips before she finished. She planted the seed in a sheltered corner of the garden where it would be safe.
After some weeks had past, the wife was happy to announce that she was pregnant! She and the husband were full of joy. And in the corner of the garden, a little plant began to sprout. The wife took good care of the sapling that was growing from her apple seed, watering it every day and helping it to grow. Over the next few months the Wife’s stomach grew bigger and bigger. Then the big day arrived, and the baby came. The husband and wife had a little baby boy. The husband and wife and become a mother and father. They decided to call their son Philip, and for short they called him Pip.
Pip grew slowly, and when he was old enough to go and play with other children some of them made fun of him for being small. They called him Pipsqueak and didn’t let him play with them. Pip asked his mother why he was smaller than other children. His mother took him to the young apple tree growing in the garden. She told him “This apple tree is like you, it is small and grows slowly. But it will get bigger and bigger and bigger like the trees you climb and your father picks apples from. Just because something happens slowly, doesn’t mean it won’t ever happen, you must be patient,” Pip didn’t like being patient, but he liked the idea that he would grow big and strong like an apple tree, so his mother’s advice had made him feel better.
Years passed, and Pip continued to grow slowly, but grow he did. Even though he was small he made many friends, including a beautiful girl who he fell in love with. And she fell in love with him too. Just like his mother said, Pip grew with the apple tree. When everyone else finished growing, he continued. And he got bigger and stronger. All the boys that made fun of him before were now jealous and tried to ignore him, but Pip was very popular because he was so kind and friendly so even more people knew him when he also became big and strong. One day, Pip was talking to the girl he loved. One of the mean boys was walking nearby and hid so he could listen to the conversation. Pip told the girl about the special apple tree in his mothers garden, and soon it would grow fruit. He wanted the girl to have the first apple from the tree, Pip would share the special fruit as a gift of his love. The mean boy was angry and jealous that Pip had everything, so he made a plan to cut down the tree and get rid of all the fruit. Two nights later, the mean boy took an axe to Pip's house and went into the garden, and he began chopping down the tree. Chopping a tree makes a lot of noise, and suddenly the door to the house opened and light shone into the garden. Pip saw the boy chopping the special apple tree and shouted at him to stop it. The boy didn't listen and carried on chopping, so Pip ran at him and pushed him away. The two boys started to fight, they hurt each other a lot. Pip's father came outside and stopped them. The mean boy was in big trouble, and was taken home. Pip was also in trouble for fighting, but his mother and father were happy that he saved the tree.
A few days later, just as he'd promised. Pip gave the girl the first apple from the special apple tree. The girl took a bite. It was the most delicious apple she'd ever eaten. Pip also went to talk to the mean boy. He took out a second apple and offered it to him. Pip said to the boy that they don't have to be enemies, they can be friends instead. The mean boy took the apple and ate it quickly like a greedy animal. When he was finished he was quiet for a while, and then said 'Thank you'.
Years later, Pip and the mean boy were friends. Not best friends, but friends. And Pip married the girl he loved. When they wanted to have a baby, Pip's mother gave them an apple, and told the girl to eat the whole thing even the core, except for a single pip which she should plant in a safe place.