The Cane of the Orange Tree

Khitam Muhammad el Hissi
11 years

My grandfather spends most of his time in the orange grove, watering the trees every morning and caring for it all the time. At noon my grandmother finishes preparing lunch, and puts it in the lunchbox, and tells us: this is your grandfather’s lunch; I go with my little brother Ahmad to the grove, we run from the rays of the sun under the shadow of the trees, we jump and enjoy the smell of oranges.

My grandfather is always waiting for us under the big orange tree; he leans on its root, enjoying its fresh air. We kiss his hands, he embraces me and my brother, and we sit next to him until he finishes his lunch. He tells us about his memories in the grove, his talk is enjoyable and we do not get bored of it, I tell him: Grandfather you are a great story teller. Suddenly as he is speaking he looks at the tree, smiles and says: it is a suitable branch. What do you mean grandfather that it is a suitable branch? He answers: tomorrow you will know, now you have to go back home. My grandfather carries in his heart surprises, I thought long what he means, and I was waiting for noon time.

My grandmother does not have a watch but she feels the time and is never late for my grandfather’s lunch, my grandmother calls: lunch is ready my little ones. As usual I went with Ahmad in a hurry towards the big orange tree where my grandfather usually sits, but when we got close to the tree we did not find him under it, we looked right and left looking for him. We saw him coming from among the tree branches smiling and in his hand a big cane. I got close to him and looked at the cane, it is bended from the upside and has a handle with beautiful shapes carved on it, he said: this is the suitable branch to make a nice cane. He sat down to eat as we contemplated the pretty shape of the cane and his skill in making the cane in the natural distinguished way from the branches of the orange tree. I said: grandfather you are a skillful artist but, why this cane? He said: it is to lean on it and also for walking around.

In the evening when the beautiful sun sets down, and its rays come through the branches and leaves of the trees, there was joy as the young men of the neighborhood are entertaining the groom and singing for him, here my grandfather raised his pretty cane in the air in front of the young men of the neighborhood, and began dancing with his cane in front of the groom, everyone was surprised and how he plays and dances with the cane, they all clapped for him.
I love my grandfather very much, he is a story teller the an artist