Johnny Apple Seed

 

 

Unknown author - legend of the American colonized

Veronica Calandra Martins drawing

.

Once upon a time, there was a boy named Joãozinho, he liked to eat apples and was very happy to see the little brown and shiny seeds that slept inside. One day his mother told him that each of these little seeds could become an apple tree if it were put in the ground, warmed by the sun, watered by the rain and blessed by God.

Joãozinho then started to gather the seeds and everyone called him Joãozinho Semente de Maçã. When he had already gathered a good portion, he asked his mother:

Please, Mommy, sew me a little bag so I can store my seeds!

The mother took a piece of cloth and sewed a small bag where Joãozinho carried the seeds.
When the bag was full, he went to talk to his mother:

Please mommy, sew a bigger bag for my little seeds!

The mother took a larger piece, sewed a larger bag, and Joãozinho put the seeds in it. And when that bag was also full, Joãozinho went to ask his mother once again:

Please, mommy, sew a bigger bag for my little seeds!

After the bag was full he went to ask his mother once more, and she then took a very large cloth and sewed a large bag. When this bag was full, Joãozinho was already João, a young man, and he said to his mother:

Now I will go into the world and plant the seeds, so that all children can rejoice in the apples.

And he prepared for the journey: he didn't have shoes, but he was used to walking barefoot and the soles of his feet were quite thick; on his head he put a pan; in one hand he carried a staff; and on the shoulder the bag with the seeds. But he also carried a book full of prayers and holy stories to ask for God's blessing. So he said goodbye to his mother and went out singing:

"The good God takes care of me,
I'll sing like this:
I appreciate your gifts.
The rain, the sun and the seeds”

Where João Semente de Açã passed, he planted the little seeds. Sometimes he spent the night on a farm or spent a few days helping there. When he said goodbye, he spread the apple seeds around the house. They would have a beautiful orchard one day!

He kept walking, walking, walking, always following the sun, until one day he couldn't go on: he had reached the sea and the bag was empty. During the winter he stayed with some friends and in the spring when he made his way back home, the first apple plant he found had already grown and was no bigger than his little finger. The next plants were already the size of your ring finger, others were like your middle finger and some already had the trunk the thickness of your thumb. He kept walking and found trees getting bigger and bigger, first the size of his hand, then the length of his forearm, and the length of his entire arm. And they got bigger and bigger, until he got home. There the trees were as high as him. His mother heard him arrive singing:

“The good God takes care of me
and I sing like this:
I appreciate your gifts
the rain, the sun and the seeds.”

She ran to meet him and gave him an apple that had already ripened on their trees.

****