Tales out of school

by Frank R. Stockton

It was rather a singular thing that, although the learned men wrote full accounts of these trees, and all the common people talked about them, nobody had ever seen one of them.

Now, in Gutefundus’ country it sometimes happened that the poor people had nothing to eat, and there would be a famine. He wisely thought that if he could get some roots and slips of this Duck Tree, and plant them along all the water courses, in a few years there would be ducks enough for the very poorest family.

It was considered a very dangerous thing to take a voyage to these savage islands, but Gutefundus decided he would do it.

And he did it. He met with some fearful adventures on the way, but, after many weary months, he arrived at the Orkneys. And there, sure enough, right before his eyes, was the wonderful Bird Tree! Its long trunk stretched far out over the water. Its branches were loaded with fruit. Some of this fruit was as close shut as an egg; but some of it was splitting open, and the little ducks coming out. Some of the ducks were just ready to drop into the water, and others had only a small piece of bill stuck out of the egg. Hundreds had already fallen, and were swimming gaily about.

THE BIRD TREE.

The delighted Gutefundus plucked some of the fruit that had not yet opened, and stored it away to take home to show to his countrymen. His next proceeding was to take measures for introducing the culture of bird-trees into his country. He concluded he would cut off some of the smaller branches, and some little twigs, and would put some of their native soil in tubs on the ship, and in these he would root his slips. From these few slips bird-trees could be spread over the country in a few years.

The task of choosing and cutting these slips he took upon himself, and climbed the tree for that purpose. But, no sooner had he cut the first little twig than he felt a great shudder running all through the tree. It shook from top to bottom. The roots tore themselves loose from the soil with such a wrench that the whole tree fell violently forward into the water, and sank beneath the waves as if it were made of iron. The ducks that were swimming around went down with it, and were seen no more. Gutefundus, entangled in the branches, would inevitably have gone down also with the tree, had he not caught fast hold of some sedges on the shore, and, by a great effort, got his feet free from the branches.

He, and the ship’s company knew then that this was a magic tree. The gathered fruit they had, was therefore accursed, and they immediately threw it all overboard. On touching the water it burst with a great explosion. They then sailed away from the spot as quickly as possible.

From that day to this there has never been another bird tree found anywhere. And the poor people of Gutefundus’ country lived and died without ever tasting tree-ducks.