The Golden Pears

Once upon a time, in a rural Austrian village there lived a poor peasant. He had almost nothing but his little cottage, his three sons, and a single pear tree that grew in his tiny front garden. The pear tree bore sweet, delicious fruit that was better than any other fruit that grew in the area. One day, the peasant had an idea:

“These pears would surely please His Majesty the king!” he said to his sons. “Come, let us pick a basket of pears together and give them to the king as a gift.”

So they did. The peasant wove a lovely wicker basket and lined it with soft leaves, and his sons picked the shiny pears and placed them in it.

Then the peasant said to his eldest son: “Take the basket straight to the royal court. Do not eat any of the pears yourself, nor offer any to anyone else. And take care that no one steals them!”

“Yes, father,” his son promised, “I can take care of myself.” He covered the pears with another layer of leaves and set out on his way.

He walked and walked until he came to a small stream. There, he stopped to rest and drink. A little old woman was hunched over at the edge of the stream, washing her clothes.

“Hello, young lad,” she greeted him. “What heavy load are you carrying that’s making you breathe so heavily?”

The boy lied to her: “Oh, only some dirt I swept up from the road.”

“Dirt?” the woman wondered. “Well, if you say so, it must be true.” And she resumed her washing.

When the boy reached the king's palace and announced that he was carrying his father’s pears, the king received him eagerly.…