Traditional Folktale of The Three Trees

In Western Asia, between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, which cuts through the Sea of Galilee, lies a place known as Israel. In this special place, there are two historical cities called Bethlehem and Jerusalem. This traditional folktale takes us to those places as well as to hope and faith.

A long time ago, among many rolling green hills, there was one hill distinct by its three trees.

As seasons changed, the trees changed with them. Spring covered the barren branches with lush green leaves. Summer turned the leaves upwards toward the sun. Autumn changed the green leaves into beautiful range of red and golden colors. Winter brought the branches to its barren state. It did not cover the branches with its white fluffy snow as in other cooler regions.

During those seasons, the three trees dreamed of their destiny. The first tree spoke, “I wish to be turned into the most delicate looking chest on the outside, but the sturdiest on the inside.”

“Why would you wish for that?” asked the third three.

“To hold the heaviest and the finest jewelry in the world,” answered the first tree.

The second tree replied, “I want to be turned into the most spectacular ship.”

“Why would you wish for that?” asked the third three again.

“To travel around the world and carry the grandest of all people such as kings and queens,” responded the second tree.

The first and the second tree looked at the third tree and asked, “You don’t have a dream?”

The third tree sighed, “I do. I wish to stay here and reach the heaven.”

For many years, all three trees remained on the hill until one sunny day, when a woodcutter came. He raised his axe and kept chopping the first tree until it fell. The first tree spoke, “I am ready for my dream to come true.”

The following day, the woodcutter did the same thing to the second tree, which spoke exactly the same words as the first tree, “I am ready for my dream to come true.”

On the third day, the third tree wept, when it saw the woodcutter approaching the hill and said, “But my dream is over.”

The woodcutter chopped the first tree into small pieces and sold it to a carpenter. The carpenter sawed the wood into planks and nailed them together into a sturdy manger. Then he sold it to a farmer from Bethlehem, who put it in his stable and filled it with hay for animals. “Oh, my dream is over,” sighed the first tree.

One night, a baby was laid on hay in the manger. A man and a woman surrounded by animals watched over this special baby. The first tree then knew it was holding the greatest treasure in the world.

The second tree was cut into big pieces and sold to a carpenter. The carpenter nailed the planks into a sturdy boat, then sold it to fishermen. Each night the fishermen took the boat to a lake called the Sea of Galilee and once the net filled with fish, they pulled them onto the boat. The boat left the shore only during the night and just for fishing. Its wood now smelled of fish. “Oh, my dream is over,” sighed the second tree.

One night, storm raised the waves crushing them against the boat. The fishermen prayed for their safe return. A man appeared in the boat, spread his arms and turned his palms down calming the waters. The second tree then knew it was carrying the mightiest king in the world.

The third tree was cut into long pieces and moved to a wood-yard to wait for its order. One day, in Jerusalem two long planks were cut and nailed together creating a cross. A man was nailed to the cross and the cross was raised up with the man. People wept watching the man die.

The following day, a miracle happened; the man who had died on the cross was reborn and was seen among the people again. The third tree then knew it reached the heaven.

Source: The Three Trees. A Traditional Folktale by Elena Pasquali.