Harvesting Grapefruit

The Never Ending Quest - Episode 45225

A number of spoilt grapefruit were on the ground. But there were more in the trees, and some had lost all their green, and were at the bright yellow of their peak of flavour.

When the suggestion was made that the fruit should be harvested, Checkers, without a word, started to clamber up the trunk of one of the trees. Fred was surprised. He thought, that with her weak arm strength, that she would have trouble. He observed further, and noticed that Checkers was using her legs to provide most of the upward movement, and her wings to provide balance and to grab onto useful branches. It appeared that Checkers had a plan to get the fruit to the ground. Astra ran to the balloon to get something to catch any fruit that fell to the ground. Fred moved underneath Checkers, ready to catch her, or any fruit, if it fell.

She had now boosted herself up toward the top of the tree. She picked one of the grapefruit and tossed it toward the ground. Fred walked a few steps, and caught it, and placed it on the ground. Fred and Checkers repeated this, and a small pile of ripe fruit grew at the base of the tree. Then Fred heard the rustle of branches and the sound of something plunging through the trees. Checkers had missed a branch and was falling.

Fred rushed to find her, and hoped that she could either break her fall or take flight. Fred had an anxious few seconds before he saw Checkers working through the fruit on one of the lower branches, apparently none the worse for her fall. By this time, Astra had arrived with a basket that had been used to carry some of their supplies, and was now placing the ripe fruit in the basket. Sartoma and Solbert now arrived under the tree. The fruit came down faster now, and Fred could not gather it alone. Fred stole a glance upward, now having a better view of Checkers. He saw her reach, with wing extended, for a brilliant piece of fruit toward the end of a branch. The branch was already drooping. She tapped the fruit, and then she fell again. However, her extended wings acted as a parachute, and she slowly circled around and grabbed another, lower branch. Fred thought, "So apparently she is doing this on purpose. She goes up as high as she can, takes risks to get the riper fruit at the risky edges of the branch, and expects to fall. She has a good enough sense of balance so that she can recover. It is as if she is made to do this. Yes, I would say that her people's bodies were made for this more than they were for hunting, really. The Good Lord must have made them for the fruit trees, and they must have taken to the game animals afterward."

While all this was happening, Solbert had another observation. These fruits were small. Through cultivation, and years of selection, they could be made larger, and more useful for eating by larger creatures. He had known such fruit of such size was cultivated on the west coast of the Havnheim, and even though the farmers had long since disappeared, the fruits of these once-cultivated groves were still much larger than these wild ones. That fact that these fruits were so small led him to believe that humans never inhabited this land, at least not for very long, or very recently.

After a hour, Sartoma called up to Checkers. "Stop. We have more than enough fruit. We are not trying to feed an entire village." Checkers crouched on at the base of a large branch, near the trunk of the tree, waiting to see if the others agreed with Sartoma.

Astra then asked, "But couldn't we keep some for gifts or trade, once we make it to the Morningland continent?"

Solbert then said, "We may want to keep a few, but I am not sure how valuable they will be. They are small and seedy, and their taste might be too strong for most people. But I did notice that these trees in the interior contained cork bark. Now some strips of that bark may be useful indeed, and would be easy to carry. This bark not only floats, but does not become waterlogged, and is very good at preventing leaks. Besides, if we ever had to make a water landing, long strips of this cork might help."

Fred replied, "I have never seen this material. But I do not think any of those trees are large enough to make a raft."

Solbert replied, "I would like to see. I was thinking that we could line our gondala with it, or perhaps make waterproof collars that would buoy us if we were thrown clear. I am not sure."

Astra replied, "I would not mind exploring, said Astra. I would like to go with you."

By now Checkers had glided down, sure that there would be no more requests for the fruit.

Solbert then said, "We should wait until tomorrow. It is getting dark. For now, let us eat, encamp, and get a good night's rest.

  1. That night, Astra has a dream.
  2. After a night of refreshing sleep, the next morning a group of explorers goes into the interior.

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9/7/2004 3:25:33 AM

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