Tom.
“I’m
starving,” said Farmer John.
“Woof-woof,”
barked Lucy and he pawed at his food bowl.
So they fed
Lucy, got back into the car and had supper at a pizza place in Summer’s Fort.
By the time they returned the mist was heavy and wet and the moon shone pale
and faint overhead. Farmer John lit the fire while Tom and June put on their
pjs and brushed their teeth.
When they got
to the living room Tiptoes was waiting for them. They snuggled up to their dad
and she asked what they wanted to hear about.
“Cowboys,”
said Tom. He was still excited about galloping on the beach with Jo.
“No,” said
June. “You’ve already had your turn. I want to hear more about Asherah and the
sun-seeds.”
“Okay,” said
Tiptoes. “There are thousands of tales I could tell, but since I have told you
about the trees I will tell you about the other kingdoms too,”—but hardly had
she opened her mouth when Farmer John’s head slowly sank to his chest as he
fell asleep.
“On the sun
lived Kalor the Hot, Vallor the Light, and Sister Vive the Living. Sister Vive
had a garden, and in the garden was the Tree of Life. It was like a pomegranate
tree, with slim branches, delicate leaves and large round fruit. But it was not
like any tree on earth for it was made of golden light. And not only that, this
tree had one, and only one, fruit in a season.
Sister Vive
sat in her garden underneath the pomegranate tree. She was waiting for the
pomegranate to ripen. It was taking a long time. She sighed and thought about
the pomegranates before it. The first had been the biggest when the baby earth
was nothing but a big ball of Kalor’s hotness. When she cast the pomegranate
seeds down to the earth they became the rocks of many kinds.
The second
pomegranate was a bit smaller. Sister Vive cast its seeds down on the earth
after Kalor and Vallor complained that the world looked too bald. These seeds
become the plants and trees.
In the third
season the pomegranate was even smaller. When Sister Vive cast the seeds upon
the earth they became the animals. If a seed landed on the plains it became a
buffalo or a giraffe or a lion. If it landed in the sea it became a fish or a
dolphin or a whale. If it sank into the ground it became a mole or a gopher or
a worm. And if it didn’t land at all it became a bird flying in the air.
That is what
had become of the pomegranate seeds in the other seasons, and they had all
ripened properly. This time Sister Vive waited and waited. She got impatient
and danced around the tree—but this made no difference. She sang songs and told
tales—but this made no difference. She made music with her wonderful lyre—but
even this did not make any difference. The fruit stayed small and grew slowly.
Finally
Asherah the Earth Mother called up from the earth: ‘Sister Vive, Sister Vive,
the season is passing! Where are the seeds?’
‘The fruit is
slow and small,’ Sister Vive called back. ‘It doesn’t look ripe.’
‘If you wait
any longer the season will pass and it will be too late,’ said Sister Asherah.
‘Cast them now or they will be lost.’
So Sister Vive
plucked the pomegranate and opened it.
‘These are
strange seeds,’ she declared when she saw them.
‘What are they
like?’ called Asherah from the earth. ‘What do you see?’
‘Oh, they are
strange indeed,’ said Vive. ‘Each seed is different: some are tiny, some are
big, some are bright and some are only sparks. This fruit didn’t ripen
properly.’
But it was too
late. She couldn’t close the pomegranate and hang it on the tree again. So she
scooped out the seeds and cast them down upon the earth in the dark of night.
Oh, what a night of falling stars that was, with big stars and little stars
shooting through the sky! Some were so bright they lit the world about them.
Others only glowed like fireflies. Down, down they fell through the night
sky—but they never touched the earth. In the air they floated, over water,
“I’m
starving,” said Farmer John.
“Woof-woof,”
barked Lucy and he pawed at his food bowl.
So they fed
Lucy, got back into the car and had supper at a pizza place in Summer’s Fort.
By the time they returned the mist was heavy and wet and the moon shone pale
and faint overhead. Farmer John lit the fire while Tom and June put on their
pjs and brushed their teeth.
When they got
to the living room Tiptoes was waiting for them. They snuggled up to their dad
and she asked what they wanted to hear about.
“Cowboys,”
said Tom. He was still excited about galloping on the beach with Jo.
“No,” said
June. “You’ve already had your turn. I want to hear more about Asherah and the
sun-seeds.”
“Okay,” said
Tiptoes. “There are thousands of tales I could tell, but since I have told you
about the trees I will tell you about the other kingdoms too,”—but hardly had
she opened her mouth when Farmer John’s head slowly sank to his chest as he
fell asleep.
“On the sun
lived Kalor the Hot, Vallor the Light, and Sister Vive the Living. Sister Vive
had a garden, and in the garden was the Tree of Life. It was like a pomegranate
tree, with slim branches, delicate leaves and large round fruit. But it was not
like any tree on earth for it was made of golden light. And not only that, this
tree had one, and only one, fruit in a season.
Sister Vive
sat in her garden underneath the pomegranate tree. She was waiting for the
pomegranate to ripen. It was taking a long time. She sighed and thought about
the pomegranates before it. The first had been the biggest when the baby earth
was nothing but a big ball of Kalor’s hotness. When she cast the pomegranate
seeds down to the earth they became the rocks of many kinds.
The second
pomegranate was a bit smaller. Sister Vive cast its seeds down on the earth
after Kalor and Vallor complained that the world looked too bald. These seeds
become the plants and trees.
In the third
season the pomegranate was even smaller. When Sister Vive cast the seeds upon
the earth they became the animals. If a seed landed on the plains it became a
buffalo or a giraffe or a lion. If it landed in the sea it became a fish or a
dolphin or a whale. If it sank into the ground it became a mole or a gopher or
a worm. And if it didn’t land at all it became a bird flying in the air.
That is what
had become of the pomegranate seeds in the other seasons, and they had all
ripened properly. This time Sister Vive waited and waited. She got impatient
and danced around the tree—but this made no difference. She sang songs and told
tales—but this made no difference. She made music with her wonderful lyre—but
even this did not make any difference. The fruit stayed small and grew slowly.
Finally
Asherah the Earth Mother called up from the earth: ‘Sister Vive, Sister Vive,
the season is passing! Where are the seeds?’
‘The fruit is
slow and small,’ Sister Vive called back. ‘It doesn’t look ripe.’
‘If you wait
any longer the season will pass and it will be too late,’ said Sister Asherah.
‘Cast them now or they will be lost.’
So Sister Vive
plucked the pomegranate and opened it.
‘These are
strange seeds,’ she declared when she saw them.
‘What are they
like?’ called Asherah from the earth. ‘What do you see?’
‘Oh, they are
strange indeed,’ said Vive. ‘Each seed is different: some are tiny, some are
big, some are bright and some are only sparks. This fruit didn’t ripen
properly.’
But it was too
late. She couldn’t close the pomegranate and hang it on the tree again. So she
scooped out the seeds and cast them down upon the earth in the dark of night.
Oh, what a night of falling stars that was, with big stars and little stars
shooting through the sky! Some were so bright they lit the world about them.
Others only glowed like fireflies. Down, down they fell through the night
sky—but they never touched the earth. In the air they floated, over water,
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