The Orange by Alastair Macleod (10 best novels of all time .txt) 📕

      In Iceland a long time ago lived a chieftain, Arni at Rennadale. He had a problem - a beautiful young daughter called Astrid who, in 3 years time, would be ready for marriage.
There was already one young man, Sigurd, seeking her hand.
To find out if he was suitable Arni called Sigurd to him and said,

      “Long ago I journeyed to Spain and lived there for a year. It is a land of wonders. There was a fruit called the orange, sweet and delicious that grew in the Sultan’s garden. To gain my daughter’s hand you must bring back the seed of this plant and get it to grow”

      So the young man set out and sailed for many days finally reaching Spain and introduced himself to the Sultan.
The Sultan remembered Arni but said that,

“The man who can help you is not me but the gardener Hakim. He is in charge of the garden here at the palace and grows the oranges.”

Hakim welcomed the young man and listened to his story.

      “Orange seeds are very precious.” said Hakim “You must work in the garden for a year then I will give you a seed.”

      The young man stuck it out for a while but he asked himself what was there to this business? After 6 months he thought he knew enough. He told Hakim so and left with a seed on the long journey home.
He arrived and rushed to Arni.

      “Your task is not complete.” said Arni. “Now grow the seed.”

      Sigurd left the court and at home he pushed the seed into a pot filled with wet peat and put it against the wall outside.
Well 12 months went by and no plant emerged.

      A second suitor, Magnus, had appeared. He too was sent to Spain. Hakim the gardener told him too that he must work for a year in the sultan’s garden. Magnus worked well. He noticed the oranges needed the heat but that the fruit was ready in winter.
He returned after a year.

      Arni told him he must plant the seed and grow it to win his daughter’s hand.
In Iceland there are live volcanoes and hot water bubbles up from the ground.
Magnus set his seed in a pot of peat and ash and then put it in his bath house by the hot spring, where it was warm all year.

      But in Iceland then the houses were made of turf walls with turf roofs and no windows. What light there was came from seal oil lamps and firelight.
Well a year went by and a shoot of an orange plant appeared but it withered in a few days.

      Another suitor appeared. Erlund was sent on the same journey to the sultan’s garden. Hakim bad him stay a year to learn the secrets of cultivation.
Erlund knew the story of Sigurd and Magnus. They had missed something, otherwise their plants would have grown.

      He was a diligent gardener performing every task carefully and he learned well. He asked questions when he did not understand. His hands, though strong, were gentle with the plants. He noticed that the oranges needed well drained soil, that they soaked up the heat of the sun but that they fruited in January.
When he returned he took not one but several seeds with him.

      Arni welcomed him,

“You must get your orange trees to leaf to prove your worth. I don’t want to want to wait for fruit or we’ll be waiting here for years to get my daughter wed.”

Erlund took his seeds to his bath house and put them in pots of earth mixed with volcanic ash. He set the pots in the warm ground next to the hot spring. Then he made an opening in the roof and covered it with a piece of rock crystal that he carved so thin that light shone in.
After a year Erlund presented himself to Arni.

      “Most high chieftain,” he addressed him, “here are two orange trees beginning to grow.”

Arni studied them closely. Yes they were truly orange trees.

      “Tell me how you got them to grow. Orange trees need great care.”

Erlund replied.

      “They need water, they need heat but they also need sunlight. I set the pips in a mixture of volcanic ash and earth. I buried the pot in the warm ground by the hot spring and I gave then light with a rock crystal window in the roof.”
      “How did you find out about rock crystal?" asked Arni.
      “From one of the Arab alchemists at the sultan’s court," said Erlund.
      “You shall have my daughter.” said Arni. “A man like you would take great care of her and be responsive to her needs. You will also be a useful son in law.”

And Astrid was well pleased with the choice, for Erlund was handsome and fair.

Text: alastair macleod
Images: alastair macleod; "0range" purchased from Dreamstime royalty free photos
Editing: alastair macleod
Translation: title typeset in classical
Publication Date: 12-07-2012

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