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The range tree
Uncle Suren was Shavi's neighbour. He was the sales manager of a
clothes shop that had branches all over the country. Every week he
traveled to distant cities. One day when he returned home from a trip to
Bibile he brought a dozen oranges with him. He gave three to Shavi.
 Shavi
loved the taste of the oranges. They tasted far better than the ones
bought from the supermarket. “Bibile is famous for its oranges,” his
mother told him as she cleared the green peels of the orange from the
kitchen table.
Shavi picked up some of the orange seeds from the table and asked
Mother “If I plant these Mother, will they grow into trees and give us
oranges?”
“I am not sure if they will grow in this climate,” said Mother. “But
you can always try.”
Shavi cleared some space in one corner of the backyard, scattered the
orange seeds and covered the seeds with soil. He took an old tin of
salmon, drilled holes at the bottom of the tin with a nail and hammer
and used it as a watering can. Every evening he carried a bucket of
water to the backyard and watered the seeds carefully with his homemade
watering can. A month passed but the seeds showed no signs of sprouting.
After the second month, Shavi started to wonder if he should stop
watering his 'orange grove' every evening. Even though he walked up to
his orange seeds everyday with the hope of seeing the seeds turned into
plants, there were no signs of life at all where he had planted the
seeds. Was an orange worth all this bother he wondered.
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Green oranges |
He went to his father for advice. “Father I have watered the orange
seeds without fail every evening. But they do not seem to be growing”
Sahvi told his father.
“Be patient,” said Father. “Do not give up yet.” "Sometimes things
don't go the way we plan.
But if we don't give up and if we are patient we will be rewarded one
day."
Shavi followed his father's advice and continued to water the orange
seeds. On some evenings he patiently removed the weeds that were
cropping up so promptly in his orange grove. One day as he was weeding
the unwanted grass that threatened to grow over the seeds he noticed a
tiny green leaf peeping from the ground. He shouted with joy. One of the
seeds had finally sprouted. He dragged his father into the garden for
confirmation. He wanted to make sure this was not yet another weed.
Soon there were two more leaves on the tiny plant. Day by day the
plant grew taller and taller, and more and more leaves started to come
out. Soon the orange tree was taller than Shavi. It was strong, broad
and beautiful.
Three years after Shavi had planted the orange seeds he noticed a
flower on one of the top most branches of the tree. In next to no time
there were more flowers which were gradually replaced by tiny green
fruits. Shavi felt unbelievably happy the day he plucked the first ripe
orange from his orange tree. He remembered his father's words of advice
three years ago. The orange in his hands was the reward for his
patience.-Aditha
[email protected]
“Come forth into
the light of things, let nature be your teacher.” - William Wordsworth
Reach out to the needy
Hi Children,
 There
is hardly any one who has not given a rupee or two to a beggar. Most of
you might have visited elders’ homes and children’s homes to look into
their needs and to cheer them up.
All religious leaders have emphasized the importance of helping the
needy. It is not only money or material wealth that we can give others.
But also true love, compassion and affection.
We all need each other’s support to live in this world.
Make it a habit to help the needy in every possible way, whenever you
can. It is indeed a pleasure to see others being benefitted by your
help.
Hope you too would agree with what the Roman Philosopher,Seneca has
once stated, “I truly enjoy no more of the world's good things than what
I willingly distribute to the needy.”
Bye for now,
Sanju : [email protected]
Children’s drawing
competition
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A child who came first at the
children’s drawing competition held to coincide with the
recent police mobile service conducted by the Ginigathena
Police receiving a certificate from the Asst. Director of
Education (English) Hatton Wasantha Bodaragama. Picture by
G.A. Gunasena, Ginigathena special correspondent |
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