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This tale is about a very lazy boy named Ethan. He lived with his mother in an unremarkable village.

Each morning, Ethan’s mother rose at daybreak. She tidied up, did the laundry, made lunch for her son and left for work. The loafer slept in late, and when he finally decided to get up – he didn’t feel like doing anything, spending the rest of the day idly. After returning from work, his mother washed the dirty dishes which Ethan had left lying around, prepared supper and laboured in the vegetable garden until nightfall.

“My boy, could you give me a hand”, she asked Ethan. “It’s a lot of work to do by myself. You could tidy up the house, or water the garden.”

“Don’t feel like it”, replied the boy, who continued to lounge around.

***

One day, Ethan’s mother was caught in a rainstorm. She was drenched and became ill. That evening, she prepared supper as always, put everything in order and said to Ethan:

“My boy, I don’t feel well. I’m going to lie down. Supper is on the stove. You can set the table yourself.”

“What do you mean, myself? I don’t know how!” The boy was annoyed. He began to rattle pots and pans loudly, so that his mother would get up and serve him supper.

At that very moment, someone knocked.

“Ethan dear, could you go see who’s there?”, his mother asked feebly from the bedroom.

Grumbling unhappily, the boy went to open the door. There stood an elderly man, wearing a lengthy dark green cape. He was leaning on a long thorny staff which resembled a gigantic rosebush branch. There was a eerie air about him.

“Good evening, Ethan. I have come to visit you”, declared the strange man.

“Me?”, exclaimed the boy. “But who are you?”

“My name is Master Crocus – a very distant relative. I have a gift for you. But first, fetch me something to eat and let me rest from my travels.”

Having learned about the present, Ethan immediately invited the unknown elder into the house and ran to wake his mother.

“Mother, we have a guest! Get up quick and please set the table, please!” The boy rejoiced that he now had an excuse not to do it himself.

“Your mother… is she not ill?”, inquired Master Crocus.

“So? If not her, who will feed us?”, replied Ethan, who promptly began to interrogate the guest about his gift. The boy loved to be given things.

Ethan’s mother entered the kitchen. She was pale and trembling. Master Crocus glared at the loafer, and then… sighing deeply, struck the floor with his thorny staff. Ethan’s mother promptly vanished.

“Behold my gift”, declared the Master. “Learn to aid your mother and appreciate her. Might you want your mother returned – seek me out in Druidia.”

Ethan barely had time to gather his wits, that the uninvited guest struck once more with his staff and vanished…

Master Crocus was the most powerful wizard in Druidia. He only visited those who were lazy and untidy. The old wizard whisked their parents away, to teach the children self-sufficiency. But how could Ethan have known this, who went off to bed as if nothing were…

***

The next morning, the boy began by looking for a clean shirt, but found none and slipped on a dirty one. He was quite hungry, and so dragged himself to the kitchen. The table was bare… there was no trace of his mother’s treats. ‘Life’s dull without mother’, thought Ethan. ‘Do you think I’ll have to cook and clean the house myself? Of course not – I’ll get Master Crocus…’

He gathered his things and left the house…

Ethan barely had time to leave his birthplace that he ran across a little girl named Lazila. Master Crocus had taken away her mother and father – all because she scattered her things and refused to pick them up. Ethan and Lazila walked for but a short while when they happened upon two brothers, Idly and Loafie, who they noticed plodding towards them. The unusual magician had also visited them. The comrades in misery then all set off together.

The closer they got to Druidia, the taller the trees were. Here even the clouds began to touch their tops – the grass became so tall and so thick that one could easily get lost in it.

Ethan often reminisced about his mother and her kind gentle laugh. He reminisced about how she stroked his hair, how she read him bedtime stories, and how he was always happy in her presence.

The children grew tired, but there was no end in sight.

“We’ll get lost and stay here forever!”, lamented Lazila.

But Ethan wouldn’t give up. He could make out a narrow path barely visible through the grass, and led his companions to it.

The path brought the children to a choppy fast-flowing river. There was an old house across the river, but not a bridge in sight.

“We’ll build a raft”, decided Ethan. “Otherwise, we won’t be able to get to the other side.”

“Your idea, you do it”, said Lazila, resting on the shore.

Neither were the brothers in any hurry to help Ethan. They decided that they could swim across the choppy river, even without a raft. Loafie was the first to wade into the water. The fast current caught him like a blade of grass, sweeping him away who knows where. Idly realized that the situation looked bad, and so began to reluctantly help Ethan.

When the raft was done, the children made it to the other side. They approached the old house, which was overgrown with poison ivy. Thorny bushes surrounded it, like an impenetrable barrier. The children examined the house from every which side, but failed to find a passage.

“There’s no sign of a gate. How are we supposed to get in?”, worried Idly.

“I knew it! We’ll never find Master Crocus…”, Lazila began to wail.

“I won’t just give up”, replied Ethan, who began to climb the living fence.

The thorns dug deeply into his hands, blood dripped from his numerous wounds – but the boy ignored it all. He missed his mother terribly and wanted to bring her home, no matter what. Idly began to climb too, but once pricked by the thorns, decided to wait outside.

Finally, Ethan broke through the obstacle and reached the other side of the barrier. At that moment, something bit his leg painfully. It was a dogwood flower – fuzzy with small but very sharp teeth. The yard was infested with dogwood. They barked and protected the house from uninvited guests.

“What causes this racket?” A voice was heard, and the poison ivy covering the house crawled aside. Master Crocus appeared at the door. The dogwood, seeing their keeper, stopped barking. The flowers let their small green tongues hang out. The stalks wagged their leaves.

“Aaaah! So it is you, o lazy ones! I was asking myself, who dares to damage my fence?” Approaching Ethan, the elderly wizard waved his thorny staff. The fence parted, opening a path for Lazila and Idly.

“Good day, sir. Please forgive us – return our parents. We promise to be good and learn to help out”, Ethan pleaded on behalf of all the children.

“You say that you are willing to help? We shall see”, declared the magician. “Behind my house lies Sleepy Meadow. Yesterday, I dropped some rainbow peas there, which I need for my spells. Help me gather them all, to the very last pea.”

Master Crocus gave each of them a small pail, and a basket of food in case the children became hungry.

“Ah yes, almost forgot… If you doze off in Sleepy Meadow, you will be overgrown by hungry weeds.”

The children listened to the magician’s instructions, and then set off in search of the rainbow peas. As it turned out, this task was not so simple. The tiny peas were difficult to find in the thick grass, not to mention that sleepiness was always tugging at them. The meadow was named ‘Sleepy’ for a reason. And there was dogwood here too, occasionally nipping at the children’s heels.

They had barely begun to work when Lazila declared:

“I’m tired, let’s eat and rest. The peas won’t run away.”

Idly enthusiastically agreed with her. The basket which Master Crocus had given them contained all sorts of tasty morsels. The children stuffed themselves, which made them even sleepier. Recalling the magician’s warning, Ethan and Idly got back to gathering rainbow peas, while Lazila continued to rest and fell asleep.

Ethan was the first to fill his pail, so he began to help Idly.

“Where’s Lazila?”, he asked his companion.

The girl was nowhere in sight, so the boys set off to look for her. A pail containing only a few peas lay where they had eaten lunch. Near the pail was a small mound, overgrown with hungry weeds. This was all that remained of lazy Lazila.

“Did she fall asleep?”, exclaimed Ethan.

“Look! The pail is empty too. What a loafer!”, protested Idly.

And so the boys had to gather Lazila’s share of peas too. By evening, all the peas had been found.

Master Crocus was pleased. He didn’t even inquire about Lazila.

***

The following morning, the magician led the boys to a shrivelled tree which grew at the edge of a large field and said:

“I want you to help me water the Tearful Tree. This tree has been growing here for several centuries. Water it until tears begin the drip gently from its deep blue flowers.”

“Flowers? On a dried up tree?” Idly began to laugh. “It doesn’t even have leaves!”

“It will, if you are sufficiently patient”, calmly replied Master Crocus. “You will fetch water from the river at the other end of the field. Be cautious – the field cursed – you must not tarry in it. A little dawdling suffices to take root, and you will become sunflower plants. See how many there are here.” Master Crocus gestured towards the flowers and left.

The boys went to work. All morning, they carried water from a choppy river. But the Tearful Tree remained forever dry. While Idly carried a bucket without too much hurry, Ethan had time to dash to the river several times. He put so much effort into it, that he didn’t notice exactly when Idly paused and set his bucket down on the ground.

“Don’t stop!”, yelled Ethan. But it was already too late – a new sunflower plant had appeared in the field.

Until late that evening, the boy continued to carry heavy buckets of water by himself. It was only when the moon rose in the sky, that leaves finally appeared on the Tearful Tree and deep blue flowers bloomed. Exhausted, Ethan slumped down at the base of the tree and fell asleep. He didn’t even feel the salty drops dripping on his face. The Tearful Tree was crying…

***

Ethan woke up when he felt dogwood licking his heels. Seeing the boy open his eyes, the dogwood began to wag its leaves. ‘Can’t get rid of you, can I?’, thought Ethan, amused.

Master Crocus stood nearby, smiling.

“I have not seen any greenery on this tree in ages. Good work! I will return your mother to you. You deserve it!” Master Crocus touched the boy with his staff, and Ethan found himself on the front porch of his house.

… His mother was returning from the store, carrying heavy bags. The boy rushed to meet her. He took the supplies and carried them himself. With love and pride, Ethan’s mother gazed at her helper.

Nobody knows if Ethan ever saw the wizard from Druidia again. But Master Crocus continues to visit those who are lazy and untidy.

© Asa Guves, 2012

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