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THE TREE WITH GOLDEN LEAVES

Once upon a time in a great forest there was a tree.
Of course, you will be asking what could be so strange about this, trees have always been
there in the forests, but this one had a unique particularity: its leaves were made of gold.
It wasn’t born a tree, a long time before he had been a beautiful man, a Prince named
Leonardo, who had been turned into a tree by an evil witch, with a spell that bestowed on
him the power of granting the wishes of those who plucked his leaves. At first, he had re-
mained planted inside the gardens of his mansion, but the moment he realized he had the
chance to move as he wished, he ran far away from there, because the sight of his loved
ones suffering for his fate was causing him a terrible pain. In his roaming, he found the
great forest and decided to stop there. The vicinity of his kindred contributed to alleviate
the sadness he felt after having abandoned the peaceful home of his childhood, where
he had the love of his family and lived some unforgettable moments. He had already ac-
cepted his fate when, one morning in spring, the forest filled with voices and noises. The
trees were alarmed. <What the heck is happening?> Said an agitated chestnut. <I heard a
man order another to cut down some of the plants!> Answered a mighty oak. <Heaven
forbid, they are going to kill us all!> The trees said in unison. The progress was advancing
and with it came deforestation. From every corner of the woods, the noise of the saws at
work was reaching their ears. The birds fled scared, abandoning their comfortable nests.
The night came and silence returned to the forest, broken every now and then by a sub-
dued weeping. The grand tree with the golden leaves was powerless against so much pain.
The forest would soon disappear to make room for the houses of men. <Farewell my
friends. I will never forget you…> His roots surfaced from the soil and his ponderous
bulk moved away in the darkness. He resumed his wandering. <Unlucky me, where will I
go now?> He asked himself, walking without a break. All of a sudden, he noticed a light
in the distance. He took a few steps closer. The light was coming from a small house that
seemed rickety and desolate. “I will stop for a while in this small vegetable garden. I am
curious and I want to know who lives here.” He thought. The morning after, the door
to the old house opened and a crowd of children ran out, all happy and careless in spite
of the miserable clothes they were wearing. For sure this family was really poor. What an
enormous surprise for those little fellows must have been to find that majestic tree with
all his shining leaves, in their small garden! They assaulted him from all sides, climbing the
big trunk nearly to its top, yelling and calling their mum and dad, who arrived at a run and
remained shocked at the threshold. <This is marvelous!> They both exclaimed. <Look,
my dear, its leaves are made of gold. I’ve never seen anything like it in my entire life!> As
he said so, the husband went near a branch, and plucked one leaf. Instantly the humble
house transformed into a magnificent residence, the one he had always wanted for his
family. It was a miracle! The wife followed her husband’s example and plucked another
leaf, then she run instantly inside the huge house. In a sitting room at the ground floor,
right at the center, there was a table lavishly decked. On top of it there was everything
you could wish for! The woman fell to her knees and thanked the Lord for the grace and
abundance he had granted them. The children did the same thing in turn and they found
themselves dressed up and submerged in a sea of toys. Even their dream had come true.
The following night, content with what he had managed to give to that family, the tree
moved to another small vegetable garden, in front of another humble home. And more

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