Lesson 13: The Shepherd Who Planted the
Tree Jean Giorno
To really understand a person, you have to
observe what they do over the long term. If he is generous and selfless, does
not expect anything in return, and leaves a lot to the world, then it is safe
to say that this is a rare good person. It was in 1913 that I made a long trip into
the French Provence Plateau to the Alps. It is 1,230 meters above sea level,
and as far as the eye can see, it is full of wasteland. On the bare hill, there
was not a single tree. In the boundless wilderness, I walked for three days and
finally came to an abandoned village. A church with a collapsed spire shows
that it was once inhabited, but now shows no sign of life. It was a clear June
day, and the sun was about to scorch people. Since I ran out of water two days
ago, I urgently needed to find drinking water. I thought there should be a well
in the village, but when I found it, I found that it had long dried up. I walked for another five hours, full of
arid land and weeds, thinking: I am afraid that there is no hope of finding
water. Just as I was climbing a hill, I suddenly saw a figure in the valley in
the distance, and at first I thought it was a dead tree, but anyway, I walked
over. It turned out to be a shepherd, and he was surrounded by a flock of
sheep, lazily lying on the hot mountainous grounds. The shepherd made me drink from his kettle
and took me to his hut on the mountain. He drew water from a deep well for me,
and the water was sweet. He rarely speaks, as does everyone who lives alone.
But you can feel that he is a confident and strong-willed person. To me, he was
like a mysterious spring gushing out of this barren land. He did not live in a tent, but in a solid
stone house. It can be seen that he is a stone house built little by little in
this desolate highland, the roof is very tight, and the wind blows through the
roof tiles, making a sound like the waves rushing to the shore and lapping
against the shore. The room was neatly tidy, the dishes were cleanly washed,
there was not a speck of dust on the floor, the shotgun had just been oiled,
and there was a pot of hot soup boiling on the stove. His beard had just been
shaved, his clothes had been carefully sewn stitch by stitch, and the patches
and stitches were so fine that they were barely visible. On the third day, I said goodbye to the
shepherd. On the fourth day, the following year, the
First World War broke out. Five years in the military made me almost forget
about the "shepherd who planted trees". After the war, I set foot on
the road to the plateau again. At first glance, the area looks roughly the
same, except at the end of the uninhabited village, a thin mist is seen, like a
carpet, spread on the plateau. I couldn't help but think of him. I think those
10,000 oak trees must have grown into a large forest! In five years of war, how
can an old man in his fifties live? On the fifth day, in fact, Elzea Bufiye was
not only alive, but his body was even healthier than before. Now he no longer
herds sheep because the flock gnaws off the saplings he planted. The war did
not interfere with his life, and he has been planting trees without
distractions. Oak trees, beech trees, and birch trees. On the sixth day, the oak tree planted in
1910 is now ten years old, taller than me, and looks spectacular. I was
speechless, and he was still silent. We wandered quietly all day in the forest
he planted. The forest is divided into three parts, the largest of which is
eleven kilometers long and the widest is three kilometers. It was created from
the hands and heart of this man, without any outside technical support. I
learned that in addition to destroying, human beings can be created like God. On the seventh day, the shepherd insisted
on doing what he wanted. This invisible piece of beech is proof that they are
as tall as my shoulders. The large oak trees are also very lush, so you don't
have to worry about being eaten by animals. He pointed to a birch forest and
said it had been planted five years ago. He planted all the birch saplings in
the valley where he thought the surface was wet, and it turned out that he was
right, and these birch trees stood tall, like a teenager standing upright. On the eighth day, as we turned back to the
village, a riverbed that had been dry for a long time was now gurgling. It's
the knock-on effect of planting trees, and it's the most amazing miracle I've
ever seen. On the ninth day, starting in 1920, I
visited the old man who planted the tree almost every year. I've never seen him
have any doubts or wavering, just persistently planting trees, and only God
knows how hard it is! On the tenth day, in June 1945, I saw the
old man planting the tree for the last time, who was eighty-seven years old. As
I drove into the highlands and embarked on this road to the wilderness, I
couldn't believe my eyes. The woods retain rain and snow, long-dried springs
spring spring up, and the river gurgles into the pond, where linden trees are
planted. On the eleventh day, whenever I think of
this old man who planted trees, relying on the physical strength and
perseverance of one person to turn this desert into an oasis, I feel how great
the power of man is! But thinking of what kind of Duan strength and
selflessness are needed to accomplish something, I have infinite admiration for
this ordinary skilled sheep from the bottom of my heart. He did what only
heaven could do. |
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