The Phoenix's Orchid

Once upon a time, when faeries danced in every garden and a troll lurked under every other bridge, there lived a young man. He was healthy and capable, and his heart was the size of any six average boys' hearts together.

He was very kind, very earnest, very generous, and very, very gullible. But the people of Menewsha were, as a whole, honest and would never have dreamed of taking advantage of the young man. They laughed and would turn his generosity to those who needed it more than they.

But of course, not everyone in this world is as good as that.

A townswoman who was not fully adapted to the lifestyle of Menewsha saw the young man offering a bag of gold to a friend, who smiled and turned it away with his thanks.

"Give it to me," the townswoman said, when the friend had said his good-byes and gone about his way.

"With all my heart," the young man replied, handing over the bag of gold without hesitation and with a charming smile besides. Surprised and not knowing quite what to say, the townswoman took the bag and hurried back home.

For the next few days, she paid attention to the young man and his behavior - and the behavior of the Menewshans. She decided that the next time he offered something and the person he offered it to turned it down, she'd ask for it again. This time he was offering a hat that she coveted. When that was also kindly refused, she approached the young man again. "I will take that," she said.

"Then I give it to you with all my heart," the young man replied, placing the hat upon her head and seeming to be quite happy with merely that as his reward.

Again not knowing how to respond, the townswoman went away. But she sat and thought about it. "I wonder how far he would go to please a person?"

It was not long before she was to find out - she ran across him the very next day. "How are you? Is there anything you need?" the young man asked, seeing her expression.

"Would you really get me anything I asked for?" she questioned him.

"Oh yes - nothing would make me happier!" he replied.

"Then I'd like a flower -" she began. "An orchid..." That still didn't quite feel special enough. "An orchid that grows only in Menewsha!" And still - it didn't sound quite special enough. "And it must change its color every time it blooms!" There - that sounded quite special indeed.

The young man looked puzzled a moment, but agreed readily enough. "With all my heart!" He turned and walked immediately in the direction of the home of an old man who knew Menewsha the best, leaving the townswoman speechless - as she rather had expected he would refuse.

The young man walked twenty miles over some of the roughest terrain in the area to reach the man who knew the most about Menewsha, but the old man did not know of any such orchid. "You may wish to ask my grandfather," he wheezed. "But the way is long and hard - surely it is not that important?"

"It is my Quest," the young man replied simply. "Where might I find him?"

So the young man was told to walk the entire length of Menewsha to find the old man's grandfather, who lived on a rocky beach. It took him quite a long time to find the cottage and he was worn and weary when he arrived - but the ancient man who greeted him was kind and fed him a soup that helped him to recover. The young man told him what he was looking for and the ancient man shook his head, having never heard of such a thing.

"But you may wish to talk to the guardian on the mountain," he sighed. "But the way is long and hard - surely it is not that important?"

"It is my Quest," the young man replied simply. "Where might I find the Guardian?"

The ancient man instructed him to climb the tallest peak of Menewsha, where the wind howled its fury all year round. He crossed the whole of Menewsha again and scaled the mountain. It took him a very long time and when he reached the summit, he saw nothing at first.

"Oh - I've climbed the wrong mountain!" he cried, never for a moment believing he had been lead astray, even as his teeth chattered and he turned blue from the cold. He had not the strength to climb down again.

A sudden flash of heat chased away the chill and the young man looked up to see a phoenix standing over him - its wings spread and warmth radiating out from the magical bird like a warm summer sun.

"What a foolish creature you are," the phoenix remarked, its eyes bright and tone exasperated. "You need not explain why you are here - I was told as I flew over the cottage on the rocky beach. Is this that important to you, then?"

"It is my Quest," the young man replied simply. "Where might I find such a flower?"

The phoenix regarded the young man for quite awhile, which allowed the young man some time to thaw from the cold. Finally, it replied. "There is no such flower now, but go you back to your town and build a garden. When it is finished, I will plant this orchid - one unlike any other in this world - and every time it blooms it will be of a different color."

"Thank you!" the young man cried.

"But be warned - the way is long and hard. Tell this to the townswoman - she shall have to work to earn her special gift. And you - you may help her as much or as little as you like. But it will not bloom if she does not put in her fair share of the effort. How can she appreciate something she has done nothing for?"

The young man, for once, had no ready reply. It seemed as if he had taken the phoenix's meaning, so the magical bird sent him on his way down the mountain and back to his town. He built the garden, and the phoenix came, planting a seed in the ground before flying away.

The townswoman came and demanded her flower, and so the young man explained what the phoenix had said. She pretended to agree, but left the bulk of the work up to the young man. So the orchid did not bloom that year. Nor the next. By the third year, all in the town knew the story, so the townswoman began to feel as if she should work a bit more, if only to escape the knowing looks of the townspeople. And as she worked, she began to wonder what the orchid would look like as it bloomed - so she worked a bit harder.

The third year the phoenix's orchid bloomed - a flower so lovely it moved people to dream. It moved the townswoman to tears. "Let's celebrate your success!" the young man said, happy to have finally fulfilled her wish.

And so every year the phoenix's orchid blooms, the island of Menewsha celebrates, knowing that hard work is what brings the purest rewards.