"Just such another large blooming Elder Tree stands near the New Booths.
The most wonderful fairy tales grow out of that which is reality; were that not the case, you know, my magnificent Elderbush could not have grown out of the tea-pot." And then she took the little boy out of bed, laid him on her bosom, and the branches of the Elder Tree, full of flowers, closed around her.
And there is an Elder Tree standing beside it; and the cock is scraping away the earth for the hens, look, how he struts!
And spring came, and summer; and then it was autumn, and then winter; and a thousand pictures were reflected in the eye and in the heart of the boy; and the little girl always sang to him, "This you will never forget." And during their whole flight the Elder Tree smelt so sweet and odorous; he remarked the roses and the fresh beeches, but the Elder Tree had a more wondrous fragrance, for its flowers hung on the breast of the little maiden; and there, too, did he often lay his head during the flight.
Yes, it was delightful; and the little maiden showed the boy everything; and the Elder Tree still was fragrant, and the red flag, with the white cross, was still waving: the flag under which the old seaman in the New Booths had sailed.
The tea-pot was standing on the table, but no Elder Tree was growing out of it!
And don't forget to ask the
elder tree permission before picking the blossom as folklore has it that the
Elder Tree Mother lives in the
elder tree and watches over it and gets cross if you don't respect the tree and its fruits.