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Johnny Appleseed (1) [Johnny Appleseed]

Johnny Appleseed (1)

《One of America's fondest legends is that of Johnny Appleseed, a folk hero and pioneer apple farmer in 1800' 》

There was one thing Johnny Appleseed like to do better than anything else.
That was to find a sunny spot and dig a little hole and plant an apple seed. For he knew the seed would grow into sturdy apple tree.

Johnny dug his little holes and planted apple seeds, and he dug and he planted some more, until the whole countryside around his home was dotted with fine young apple trees.

" I don't know what I'll do when there's no place left for planting apple trees, " said Johnny to his animal friend on the farm.

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One day as he was walking own the road, looking for a spot to plant just one more apple seed, Johnny heard the sound at singing, coming closer and closer.

" Git on a wagon rolling West,
  Cut to the great unknown.
  Git on a wagon rolling West,
  Or you'll be left alone.
"

Then, as Johnny watched, down the road came a very long line of covered wagons drawn by great oxen.
Beside each wagon walked a tall, strong man dressed in deerskin.
Each man had a rifle swinging at his side.

These were the pioneers.

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Johnny Appleseed (2) [Johnny Appleseed]

Johnny Appleseed (2)

The pioneers were talking their families off into the great empty lands of the West, to build new homes.

" Come along, boy ! " the pioneers shouted to Johnny, when they saw him standing there at the roadside.
" Come West, young fellow. Come along with us. "

" But I can't be a pioneer ! " said Johnny.
" I'm not tall and strong. I couldn't shop down trees to build  a log cabin. I couldn't clear fields to plant corn. I guess there's nothing much that I can do out West. "  

The pioneers were not listening. They were marching ahead, still singing as they went.

Soon the words of their song floated back to Johnny on the breeze.
" ー you'll be left alone, "

" I wish I could go West, too, " said Johnny to himself.

" You can, Johnny ! " said a voice beside him.
It was Johnny's Guardian Angel speaking.
" Not all the pioneers have to cut down trees. You can be a pioneer who plants trees. Wherever there are homes, Son, the folks will need apple trees. "

"Why, Johnny Appleseed ! You just think of the things that apples make. There's apple pies and apple fritters, apple cores to feed the critters, tasty apple cider in a glass. There's apples baked and boiled and frizzled, taffy apples hot and sizzled, and there's always good old apple sass ! "

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Johnny Appleseed (3) [Johnny Appleseed]

Johnny Appleseed (3)

" You're needed in the West, young Johnny Appleseed ! You have a job to do ! "

" But I have no covered wagon, " said Johnny.
" I have no knife and gun. "

" Shucks, " said the Guardian Angel to Johnny, " all that you will need out West is a little pot to cook in, and a stock of apple seed ー and the Good Book to read ! "

" That's wonderful ! " said Johnny, " I have a pot to cook in, and my Book and apple seed. I can start right away. I'm off for the West, Mr.Angel, this very day ! "

Of course, before he left for the West, Johnny stopped to see his friends, the animals on the farm.

" I have to say good-by, " he told them,  " cause you've been such good friends to me.   I sure will miss you when I'm out there all alone. "

The animals looked sorrowful. They know they would miss Johnny, too.

" Well, so long, " he said at last.
Then away down the road to the West he went, young Johnny Appleseed.

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Johnny Appleseed (4) [Johnny Appleseed]

Johnny Appleseed (4)

The West was mostly forest in those days.

And that forest was big and deep and dark ー a mighty fearsome place, you might think, for one young man to be all alone, without a knife and without a gun.

But Johnny Appleseed never thought of being afraid.
He just marched along the narrow forest trail, singing a merry song.

And as he marched, he looked to the right and the left, watching for bright spots to plant his apple seeds.

No, Johnny was not afraid in the forest, but he was lonely.
He had to admit that.
It had been some days since he had seen a covered wagon train or single pioneer.
And he missed his animal friends, back on the farm.

Of course, Johnny was not really all alone in the forest.
He just thought he was.
On every side, fro behind every tree, sharp little, bright little forest eyes kept watch as he marched along.

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Johnny Appleseed (5) [Johnny Appleseed]

Johnny Appleseed (5)

And as they watched, the little forest folk wondered.
For the animals did not like Men.

The only Men they knew were the tall, strong pioneers.
They cut down trees to build cabins. They cleared away tickets to make fields. They shot wild animals for food and fur.
Naturally, the forest folk did not like that.

So they hid and watched as Johnny Appleseed came down the path, all alone.

" He doesn't look like the others, " whispered a chipmunk.

" He is not very tall. He does not look very strong, " said a squirrel.

" He has no knife, and he has no gun, " said the smallest bunny.

" Still, he is a Man, " the gentle deer reminded them, " so we must be very careful. "

And they were.
They watched, ever so quietly, and ever so cautiously, as Johnny appleseed walked along.
 

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Johnny Appleseed (6) [Johnny Appleseed]

Johnny Appleseed (6)

At last he came to a sunny little open spot among the forest trees, and there Johnny Appleseed stopped short.

" This looks like a right nice spot, " he said, " for me to plant an apple tree. "

So Johnny set down his little cooking pot and his Bible and his packet of apple seeds.
And he picked up a long straight stick which he found there on the ground.
" This is a fine straight stick for digging my little hole, " he said.

But the animals watching, from behind the trees, thought is was a gun.

" Danger ! " they whispered.
" The Man has a gun ! Run, run, run !"

At the signal, all the animals started to run as fast as they could.
Off in all direction they scattered through the forest.

But just as the smallest bunny started to run, he caught one foot in a twisted vine. He squired and twisted as hard as he could, but he could not jerk himself loose.

" Oh, dear ! How sad ! " whispered the other animals, as soon as they knew. 
And from their hiding place farther back in the woods, they watched to see what would happen to the smallest bunny.

" Is someone there ? " called Johnny Appleseed. For he had heard the forest folk racing away to their new hiding places.

" It would be nice to find a friend, " said Johnny to himself.
He called again.
But there was no answer.

Pushing the bushes aside with his long, straight stick, Johnny Appleseed stepped into the forest.

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Johnny Appleseed (7) [Johnny Appleseed]

Johnny Appleseed (7)

And there, while the watching animals held their breath in fright, Johnny Appleseed found the smallest bunny with his foot caught in the twisted vine.

" Well, " said Johnny Appleseed softly, " What has happened to you, little fellow ? "

And very gently Johnny Appleseed untwisted the vine from around the foot of the smallest bunny, and set him free.
Just as soon as the smallest bunny was free, he started to run into the forest.

" I wish you wouldn7t run away," called Johnny Appleseed after the smallest bunny.
" It is lonely in the forest for me, and I would like to be your friend. "

The smallest bunny did not answer.
Instead, he turned and hopped back to where Johnny was still sitting.
Then, he put his soft nose into Johnny Appleseed's hand, and twiddled his whiskers in a friendly way. 

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Johnny Appleseed (8) [Johnny Appleseed]

Johnny Appleseed (8)

The other animals were amazed.

" Why, this Man not bad, " they said.
" He is nice an friendly. "

So one by one animals crept out from their hiding places farther back in the woods and gathered around Johnny Appleseed.
Before long Johnny was surrounded by his new forest friends.

" Well. " he chuckled happily, " this is as nice as being home on the farm. "

And from that day on, Johnny Appleseed was never lonely again.
He wandered on through the lands of the West.
Whenever he came to a sunny little open spot among the forest trees, he planted his apple seeds.

And as Johnny Appleseed planted his trees, he sang his merry song;
" ー apple pies and apple fritters,
 Apple cores to feed the critters,
 Tasty apple cider in a glass.
 Apple baked and boiled and frizzled,
 Taffy apples hot and sizzled,
 And there's always good old apple sass. "

As the years passed, there were more and more farms through the wide land, and farm-houses and people.

And in almost every farmyard, throughout the West, there were spreading apple trees which had been planted by Johnny Appleseed.
 
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Johnny Appleseed (9 完) [Johnny Appleseed]

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.

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《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》


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