Johnny Appleseed (9 完)

Johnny Appleseed (9 完)

He was a welcome guest in all these farm homes.
And Johnny liked to come and visit for a barn-raising and a house-raising and a quilting or corn-husking bee, for then friends would gather from far and near.

But between times Johnny kept on the move.
There was still much woodland there in the West.

Days often passed when Johnny did not see a covered wagon,  a log cabin and a sign of a pioneer.
But he was never lonely in those wild Western woods.
For as he came singing along, out from behind the bushes and trees came squirrels and deer and bunnies and all the other forest folk.

They would whisper, " This is the Man, who carries no knife and　no gun. He is a true friend to us all. "

Johnny was never lonely now.
Every animal in the whole forest was a friend to Johnny Appleseed.

(9/9 完)

《Rather real Johnny Appleseed》
His real name was John Chapman. He was born in Leominster, Massachusetts in 1774. 
 
His dream was to produce so many apples that no one would ever go hungry.
Although legend paints a picture of Johnny as a dreamy wanderer, planting apple seeds throughout the countryside, research reveal him to be a careful, organized businessman, who over a period of nearly fifty years, bought and sold tracts of land and developed thousands of productive apple trees.

His adventures began in 1792, when John was eighteen years old.
He and his eleven-year-old half brother, Nathaniel, headed west, following the steady stream of immigrants.
In his early twenties, John began traveling alone, which is how he spent the rest of his life.
Nathaniel stayed behind to farm with their father, who had also immigrated west.
John continued moving west to Pennsylvania. From there he traveled into the Ohio Valley country and later, Indiana.
He kept ahead of the settlements and each year planted apple seeds farther west.

He always carried a leather bag filled with apple seeds he collected for free from cider mills.
Legend says he was constantly planting them in open places in the forests, along the roadways and by the streams.
However, research suggests he created numerous nurseries by carefully selecting the perfect planting spot, fencing it in with fallen trees and logs, bushes and vines, sowing the seeds and returning at regular intervals to repair the fence, tend the ground and sell the trees.
He soon was known as the “apple seed man” and later he became known only as “Johnny Appleseed”.

Over the years, his frequent visits to the settlements were looked forward to and no cabin door was ever closed to him.
To the men and women he was a news carrier; to the children he was a friend. He was also very religious and preached to people along the way.
His favorite book was his Bible.

《Johnny Appleseed 完》