Nut Trees by Nigel A JAMES
I
Had a Little Nut Tree
A
short story with roots by Nigel A James.
Trees
are wonders of nature. There is something about them that everyone
loves, and I have a tree in my life. It
is a nut tree, and it arrived one year in July. It was still
very small, and, as I planted it in my garden I thought of its
chances of living. The summer was hot and still getting hotter, and
all around plants, weeds and grasses were wilting and
dying. Logically or illogically, I knew that my tree couldn't last
long. The Hungarian sun was simply too strong.
But,
not everything dies, and there must be a way. And, so it was
that I started to water it. Once in the morning and
once in the evening. And then, against all I believed, the
little tree began to get bigger and bigger. Together, I believed, we
were winning! But, as summer became autumn the little tree was still
very small. Too small, I was sure, to survive a hard winter. Would
it still be there in the spring?
And,
April arrived and back I went to my garden. And, the first
thing I did was to look for my tree. But, something had happened. It
had become smaller, it had been eaten by pigs, and all that was left
was a stem. I was sure it was dead! But,
I was wrong! It was three or four days later when a small shoot
appeared. Then came another and another, and soon
there were seven or eight. My nut tree was strong, it had little
leaves, and its chances were good!
And,
the next winter it was eaten again; and, again it survived.
And, that was eight years ago. And, my little nut tree isn't little
any more. It is two metres high and impressive. But, it still
has a long way to go. Nut trees can grow very high, and can live for
sixty-five years.
Trees
have a strength, its their character, they are stronger than us.
That's why we love them and need them!
Vocabulary
another
– noch ein
appear
– (appear/appeared/appeared) – erscheine
believe
– (believe/believed/believed) – glauben
daily
– täglich
impressive
– beeindruckend
leaves
pl. von leaf - Blatt/Blätter
once
- einmal
plant
– (plant/planted/planted) - einsetzen / pflanzen
shoot
– Trieb
simply
– einfach
soon
– bald
stem
– Stiel
sure
– sicher
survive
– (survive/survived/survived) – überleben
twice
– zwei Mal
water
(to water/watered/watered) – gießen (to
water the plants)
weeds
– Unkraut
wilting
– (wilt/wilted/wilted) – verwelken
