Mama's Home Remedies: Discover Time-Tested Secrets of Good Health and the Pleasures of Natural Livin, Svetlana Konnikova [classic fiction .TXT] 📗

from harm. In spite of that, it was Germany and Hitler, the land of our enemies. But now, in peaceful times, we have here some people who don’t want to preserve Nature in their Motherland.”

Andrew dropped his eyes and said, “I will plant two or three new rowan trees. Please let me make it up to you and correct my mistake with the oak.”

The red-headed boy, who first caught Andrew near the oak, said, “You will plant. Sure, you will plant. But we will not accept you as a member of our club, ‘Good Friends of the Forest.’ I don’t think so.”

Andrew was shocked. Al he wanted most now was to become a member of their friendly green team. So Andrew said goodbye and went home. The next day he went to the park after school. He became more and more interested in Nature. Suddenly in a beautiful meadow in the park he saw a smal , agile girl. She was standing near a goat, which was nibbling fresh grass. Andrew began to cry loudly with indignation, “Ah, you, the hooligan! What are you doing?”

He rushed up to the girl and said, “Immediately go out and find another, more appropriate place for your goat!” The girl didn’t expect anybody to see what she was allowing her goat to do and so she became frightened. She pulled the goat’s horns, but the stubborn animal refused to stop and continued to nibble the grass on the park’s lawn.

Then Andrew lost his patience. He came up behind the goat and clapped his hands loudly. The goat turned and ran full speed through the park. The girl ran away after her. Andrew followed them, running so fast that he caught them both. He took the goat’s horn, then the girl’s arm and escorted them to Dialogue with the Trees of Strength and Everlasting Life @ 251

the club, “Good Friends of the Forest.” So Andrew became a faithful guard of green verdure. Members of the club accepted him and recognized that he did very well with the goat and the girl.

He asked Uncle Basil why the boys became so angry with him in the forest near the oak. Even then he was thinking that no harm would be done if you break just one branch of an old big oak because the tree is strong and can survive some damage. The boys and girls heard his questions to Uncle Basil. One of them said passionately, “You know what? You know nothing; you are a fool if you think that. This oak that you hurt is a famous, historical tree.”

Uncle Basil asked Andrew, “Do you not know what this oak is all about?”

Andrew had no idea. “OK,” said Uncle Basil. “We’ll explore the oak’s history in the forest.” And they went to the hill where the ancient oak was standing as a guard and a wonderful monument to Mother Nature. Over the years it had become an inseparable part of the village’s history. It stands today because in their turn the village people carefully guarded their most famous inhabitant. Over the years many storms swept over the oak, but it remained standing. The old oak was named Suvorovsky oak because long ago it was planted by the great Russian general, Alexander Suvorov.

Many years ago, during the Russian-Turkish war, Suvorov’s troops crushed the Turkish army and were returning to Russia through Moldova (in the eighteenth century Moldova was cal ed Bessarabia). Before they began to ferry across the big river Dniester in Moldova, they stopped for a picnic. For several months Suvorov’s soldiers rested on the hil . They were exhausted after many long battles with the Turks. However they returned home victoriously and deserved to have a good vacation. General Suvorov had a good time here also. His camp was built near the vil age in the lovely, sunny val ey. He and his soldiers enjoyed the warm sun, the tepid waters of the river, tasty fruits and vegetables, the fresh air of the forest, the beautiful vil age women, and the hospitality of its people. Some of them married local girls and remained in the vil age. Suvorov was so impressed with the people’s hospitality and appreciation that when it was time to leave, he decided to do something significant for them to remember that the Russian troops saved this small country from Turkish invaders. He was a generous, kind man and planted the oak on the hill where his army had rested.

“Grow big here, young oak tree,” he said, “and let the people remember us, the soldiers that defeated the invaders and brought such desirable freedom 252 ^ Mama’s Home Remedies

and peace to all living in this small, wonderful

country.”

Then he took a bucket of water from the

Dniester river and poured it on the ground

where he planted his tree. After that Suvorov

mounted a white horse with a golden saddle

and signaled to his soldiers to ferry across the

river. Old and young people and children from

the vil age gathered on the riverbanks to say

goodbye, and they watched the troops disappear

from their view. Now, in this wonderful val ey,

where more than two centuries ago Suvorov’s

army found a hospitable place to rest, wheat and

corn fields stand in golden bloom.

Andrew looked at the amazing Herculean oak. Each of its leaves was like a masterpiece of Nature. Each looked like a delicate, expansive jewel in gold and bronze, and suddenly he understood that only Nature is capable of creating this special art, and this art is inaccessible