Stories · The Quiet Temple

The Pear Tree That Grew in a Morning

13 min · China · Kindness · Wisdom

On a dusty autumn morning in old Shandong, a pear seller who cannot bear to give away a single fruit meets a ragged wandering Daoist, who plants one seed in the market square and lets a whole tree of sweetness pass into the hands of the crowd. Walking home with an empty barrow, the farmer discovers a gentler kind of fullness.

Retold from The Chinese Fairy Book, edited by Richard Wilhelm.

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Story 5 of The Quiet Temple, starting at 55:48.