The Golden Apple Tree (An Original Children's Story)

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In a faraway kingdom, there was once a king who owned a tree that bore golden apples. He loved this tree so much that he would not let anyone touch it, not even his wife nor his children. He wanted all the golden apples only for himself.

Over the years, many servants and soldiers had already been punished just for staring at the magnificent tree. Because of this, the king was feared by his people and everyone tried as much as the can to avoid passing by the garden where the tree stood, but it couldn't always be helped.

Things got worse when the king's wife, the queen, fell ill. The disease was so rare and incurable that they had to call in the best wizards and mages from different kingdoms to ask for help, but even their knowledge and abilities appeared to be useless in the situation. All of them, except for one.

A strange woman stepped forward and told the king about what she knew. She said that the queen only needed to eat one golden apple and she will be cured right away. The king became furious because of this and asked his guards to take the woman, and lock her up in a cell for her false practices. No one questioned him for fear of being punished as well. Not long after, the queen passed away.

Years had passed and the king took another wife. She was a princess from another kingdom. She was so gentle and kind, that no one would believe or even suspect that she was once a witch. She knew about the king's obsession towards the apple tree, how the last queen died, and how the king punished his people recklessly. She wanted it to stop.

Soon, she gave birth to a beautiful little girl that the king grew fond of right away. The child grew up feeling loved and cherished, and the queen, for once, was convinced that king had outgrown his obsession. But she was wrong.

When the little girl was only five years old, she fell sick and had to be treated right away, or else she was going to die. The best wizards and mages were called in again, and this time, they all agreed that the princess needed to eat one golden apple from the king's precious tree. At once, the wizards and mages were sent to rot in the cells for their honesty. The queen found out about this and knew that she had to make a decision. She loved the king, but she loved their child even more. She was not going to allow her husband to deprive their child of the chance to live.

At once, she went to the garden and plucked the largest golden apple and rushed to give it to her daughter. When the child took one bite, she suddenly felt better and her colors started to return. Once she had finished eating the whole apple, she had fully recovered.

As the queen had expected, the king got angry for what she had done, and commanded the palace soldiers to punish her and the child. She knew what she had to do.

When the queen was taken to the royal court, she declared herself guilty of her husband's charges and said that she would do it again if she had to, and asked the king what mattered more to him than his child.

"Foolish woman. Of course my apple tree is the only thing that matters to me, unless the child could give me gold everyday, then I might change my mind," the king answered.

"You are very selfish. You don't deserve to have anything," said the queen. 

"How dare you! I am the king. I can--"

"From this day on," the queen interrupted, "you shall not part with your beloved tree. Your blood shall help the tree grow more, your own hands shall carry its fruits, and your feet shall help it stand, until the end of time."

As the queen casted her spell, the king realized that he couldn't move by himself, but his feet had taken him to the garden where his golden apple tree stood. It all happened all of a sudden, that no one really did notice how the king disappeared and how the tree had grown twice as big. The golden apples fell onto the ground and everyone who had witnessed it took turns in picking up the fruits.

Since then, the golden apple tree was enjoyed by everyone in the kingdom. The witch queen were loved by her people, and she ruled them well until the end of her days.