Lemon Tree - Short Story

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Lemon Tree
Egel was dreaming of the lemon tree. "Oh how great it would feel to have it" - he thought. Egel was a long-eared deer. He was smart and things were going very well. He knew he would get the lemon tree soon. Just a little more effort. A beautiful bell and a pretty shell went by.

Time passed. Egel got his lemon tree. But what had happened to the joy he had anticipated so much? It had lasted a short time and was now gone. "But", he consoled himself, "the next tree would be better". It was bigger and the fruits, sweeter. Egel was now dreaming of the bigger lemon tree. "Oh how great it would feel to have it" - he thought. Things were going well. He knew he would get to the lemon tree. Just some more effort. A flower and a grasshopper went by.

Time passed. On a whim, he looked around and was puzzled by what he saw. Why were the elephant, the ant and the mouse looking so drawn and sad? Why was he looking so sad? With a shock, Egel realized that they were all running. Running hard for the next bigger tree. But Egel still had energy. He ran. Time passed and he got to his bigger lemon tree.

Alas! Once again the joy was fleeting and soon he was running for the even bigger tree. Egel was now getting tired. "Why am I running?" - he wondered. Why are we all running? Why is the lemon tree not making me happy? Is there even a lemon tree? Egel thought hard. Yes, it was now coming back to him. Long ago, when he was little, his teachers had told him that lemons were useful and therefore more lemons brought more happiness. So he had run. And so they all ran. They had run hard. They had run long. Time had passed. Times had changed. The teachers had died and the land had changed. But a habit is hard to break and so they all still ran for the bigger lemon tree.

With a sigh, Egel ran again. But this time he felt a little strange. As soon as he started running he somehow knew there was no lemon tree. But.. why was he feeling lighter and freer? It was as though a weight he had carried for a long, long time had suddenly just fallen off. He had never felt like this before. "But what if I do not get to the lemon tree?" - he worried. Am I just being lazy? What will the elephant, the ant and the mouse think of me?

A beautiful bell then caught his eye. He paused to look at it. It looked strange. He had not really looked at one since he was little. He talked to the bell. He had not known that a bell could talk. "Dear elephant, dear ant and oh mouse, look and talk to the bell" - he shouted. But they were too busy running for the lemon tree.

Egel talked to the bell for some time. The bell knew things he had never even thought of. He then said goodbye and started running again. He had now lost interest in the race. Even the elephant and the ant could sense it.

A little time passed. Egel saw a pretty shell. He stopped and the shell said - "Hello". Hello, Egel smiled. The two talked. The shell was an interesting fellow. He had been lost in the western forests for days and had once been washed away by the mighty Irada when she was furious with the melting snow. Egel listened and learnt a lot. He realized that he was listening and seeing more clearly. He felt very happy and even looked different.

The two talked for quite a while. Then Egel took his leave. He had now stopped running.

"Who am I?" - he suddenly thought. What should I do? Egel wrestled with this for a long time. He talked to the flowers and the grasshoppers along the way. Slowly the answer dawned on him. He was a deer and shared his spirit with corn. As soon as he realized this, a field appeared from nowhere with the sign - "Help wanted". Egel stopped running for good and became a farmer. He grew corn. He was much happier. Every once in a while he would look across the fields puzzled as the others ran on.