The Oak Tree and the Nymph

Once upon a time there was a beautiful young Nymph who had been captured by an evil ogre.
He kept her chained in the highest tower of his castle because he was afraid someone might take her from him and afraid because she was cleverer than him.

Now the Nymph, whose mother was a wood nymph, pined without the meadows, flowers and trees, so once a week the ogre relented and let her out for a few hours. Her spirit briefly freed, she danced and danced in the clearings in the woods, breathing the clean air.

One day, wandering from her usual path, she found a large tall spreading oak tree, and climbed into its branches. From then on every week, she'd always return to find the Oak and climb up again to play.

Now, the Oak was enchanted by this creature of magic and light which had graced him by her presence. She swung in his branches and loved sitting on his boughs playing with his leaves. And, as most fairy tales would expect, they started to converse and talked of many many things. Admittedly what with the species differences, they didn't understand each other so very well, but still she sang for him and climbed high, high above the forest to spy far-off lands. And he spoke of all the many things he had seen pass, of travellers passing below, of wonders and the wildness of the earth, clouds and wind.

And so of course, they fell in love. Emboldened by her champion and being quite a brave nymph, she slew the ogre and so tasted freedom at last. He was so very proud, his branches decked with her garlands. She felt safe sleeping in his strong boughs and made her home in his heart, as he did too. The manner of their love making was most most interesting, though extraordinary, but this is a children's story so we can't go into all that. They were truly truly happy for the very first time in their lives. They saw the seasons pass and celebrated their differences, each delighting in the otherness. In wild storms and snows he sheltered her, while she planted his acorns, gathered his golden leaves into crowns, danced and sang. From the first day of Spring until the last of Winter they loved and loved and loved.

But sadly, in celebrating all the many differences of each other, they forgot one aspect - that the time constants of their hearts were so different. For the young Nymph, her love waxed fast for the old Oak , then started to waiver. For the Oak, his slow love just grew and grew and deepened. Both listened to their own hearts and thought it reflected the other's, not understanding the paces of their loving also differed. And so, the Nymph felt the tree's love was wavering in his slowness and she was not appreciated, while the tree blythly felt everything must of course be just getting better and better for her too as it was for him.

And so it was that one day the nymph dropped from his branches to the ground and said she had to leave him for her patience was all used up, anyway there was the species differences to contend with, and she was scared of not loving him anymore.

Hearing her, all the Great Oak's leaves fell off in one go, up to her pretty knees.

To be continued...
but in other lives