\u23f1 ~3 min reading<\/p>\n\n\n
There was a young apple tree in his grandfather's garden. Grandfather had planted it last spring\u2014Yarchik remembered how they dug the hole, how grandfather showed the roots.<\/p>\n\n
The apple tree was thin, only a little taller than Yarchik. The branches were flexible, with small leaves - even lighter than the others. Yarchik loved this apple tree. It was his age in the garden.<\/p>\n\n
One day in June, Grandpa was cooking stew in the summer kitchen. It smelled of prunes and mint. The little boy was playing by himself. At the pilot's.<\/p>\n\n
He ran between the beds, arms outstretched, and buzzed nimbly. He jumped over the path. He flapped his wing\u2014pushed his arms aside.<\/p>\n\n
Crunch.<\/p>\n\n
The torch stopped.<\/p>\n\n
The apple branch was now hanging at an angle. Not quite broken off, but almost. Only a thin strip of bark held it in place.<\/p>\n\n
Yarchik felt a hot sensation in his stomach. He looked around - no one was in sight. Only the sparrows on the fence were chirping.<\/p>\n\n
He approached slowly. He touched the crack. The bark was green inside. Light green, like milk. It smelled bitter, but clean\u2014like freshly grated apple skin.<\/p>\n\n
Yarchik tried to lift the branch. It wouldn't hold. It was falling.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cGrandpa!\u201d he called.<\/p>\n\n
Grandpa came out of the summer kitchen, wiping his hands on a towel.<\/p>\n\n
\u2014 What, my dear?<\/p>\n\n
\u2014 I broke it.<\/p>\n\n
Grandpa came up. He looked at it silently. He ran his palm over the bark above the crack \u2014 carefully, like petting a kitten.<\/p>\n\n
"Uh-huh," he said. Not angrily. A little thoughtfully.<\/p>\n\n
Yarchik expected to get into a fight. He didn't.<\/p>\n\n
"Grandpa, I didn't want to. I was playing and didn't see.".<\/p>\n\n
- I know, dear.<\/p>\n\n
"Will she die?"<\/p>\n\n
Grandpa's eyes were gray, with radiant wrinkles\u2014Yarchik loved these wrinkles, because when Grandpa smiled, they spread out like the sun.<\/p>\n\n
\u2014 Look. The twig is still holding on. If we do everything right, it might take root. The tree is alive too. It can heal itself.<\/p>\n\n
\u2014 How?<\/p>\n\n
"I'll show you. You just have to be gentle. Like with a wound.".<\/p>\n\n
Grandpa brought a small board from the barn \u2014 thin as a ruler. A piece of clean cloth. A piece of rope.<\/p>\n\n
\u2014 Hold the board like this \u2014 straight across the branch.<\/p>\n\n
He held the candle. His hands trembled a little.<\/p>\n\n
Grandpa carefully lifted the twig to its previous position. He placed a plank \u2014 like a splint for a person with a fracture. He wrapped the fracture site with a cloth \u2014 gently. And on top \u2014 with a rope.<\/p>\n\n
\u2014 Yes. Now the tree will do its own thing. The sap is running inside - it will heal. Like your blood.<\/p>\n\n
"Does it hurt, grandpa?"<\/p>\n\n
Grandfather was silent.<\/p>\n\n
\u2014 I think so. In its own way. Not like you, when you prick your finger \u2014 it\u2019s different. But it feels. Because it\u2019s alive. Everything that grows feels.<\/p>\n\n
Yarchik looked at the bandaged twig. Like a hand in a cast.<\/p>\n\n
"I won't play pilot by the apple tree anymore. That's where the potatoes are. I won't break anything there.".<\/p>\n\n
Grandpa smiled - the wrinkles disappeared.<\/p>\n\n
\u2014 That's clever.<\/p>\n\n
Yarchik checked on the apple tree every day. He brought it water in a small watering can, even though Grandpa said that trees don't drink like kittens.<\/p>\n\n
The bark over the fracture thickened. After a month, Grandpa carefully removed the bandage. The twig held on. By itself. New leaves appeared on it.<\/p>\n\n
\u2014 Grandpa, she's alive!<\/p>\n\n
"Alive, my dear. Because you didn't abandon me. Because you took care of me.".<\/p>\n\n
The following spring \u2014 Yarchik was already in first grade \u2014 three flowers bloomed on the same branch. White, with a hint of pink. Like stars.<\/p>\n\n
"Grandpa, did she forgive me?"<\/p>\n\n
"I guess, my dear. Trees are kind. They remember the hand that saves, not the one that breaks.".<\/p>\n\n
Yarchik nodded. He placed his hand on the trunk. The bark was warm from the sun.<\/p>\n\n\n
\ud83d\udca1 A tree also feels - so you should treat it as if it were alive.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n
Little Yarchik broke a young branch on his grandfather's apple tree. Grandfather didn't scold him, he showed him how to save what he had hurt.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":3409,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"yasr_overall_rating":0,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","rank_math_description":"","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_focus_keyword":""},"class_list":["post-2523","istoriya","type-istoriya","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kazkaland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/istoriya\/2523","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kazkaland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/istoriya"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kazkaland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/istoriya"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kazkaland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kazkaland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}