The Elder-Tree Story

A little boy rested in bed after a damp afternoon outside. His mother brought a warm drink, and their elderly neighbour came to tell a story. The boy hoped it would be something entirely new.

The neighbour looked at elderflowers beside the teapot and smiled. A story could begin there, he said. In the boy's imagination, white blossoms and green leaves slowly grew from the little pot.

Among the leaves sat a tiny grandmother in a green dress trimmed with flowers. She was the elder tree's keeper of memories. Her gentle voice invited the boy to follow the story beyond his room.

He saw two children planting a little elder cutting in a courtyard. They watered it and sailed toy boats nearby. Year by year, the cutting became a tree, holding their games beneath its shade.

The children grew older, but the tree stayed beside their home. One travelled across the sea while the other waited for letters. The blossoms seemed to remember both the departures and the joyful returns.

At last the boy saw the same two people, now grandparents, sitting under the great branches. Their family gathered around them. The tree had watched many seasons, and each season had left another story.

The little elder grandmother offered the boy a ride through remembered gardens. He imagined lakes, rose-covered fences and familiar streets. Nothing hurried him; every place unfolded like a page gently turned by hand.

He pictured himself growing older beside someone dear, planting another small tree. Its shade welcomed children and friends. The storyteller's voice joined the rustling leaves, weaving the future together with things already remembered.

Then the room came quietly back. The teapot was only a teapot again, and the elderflowers rested beside it. The boy's mother tucked in his blanket while the neighbour finished the tale.

The boy looked at the little flowers with new interest. A whole lifetime had grown from them in his imagination. Before sleeping, he wondered what other stories might be waiting inside ordinary things.