The Treeing of Johnny Appleseed

By Pamela Love

“My, that’s a fine looking bear,” Grandpa told me one evening as I cuddled my new teddy. A visit with my grandfather while Mom was on a business trip always meant a swing through the nearest toy department, where I could take my pick, more or less. He loved to watch me play and often joined in. “Did I ever tell you about the time Johnny Appleseed met up with a bear? It was in a Pennsylvania orchard, not three miles from where we’re sitting.”

I always enjoyed listening to my grandfather’s tall tales. Not only were they fun, it postponed bedtime. So, even though I knew the story about as well as he did, I shook my head and snuggled against him to listen.

***

Johnny Appleseed wasn’t expecting danger that April afternoon. In fact, he’d never felt more peaceful as he strolled through the Pennsylvania orchard, one of many he’d planted in the wilderness over the decades. Apple-blossom fragrance filled his every breath. Bees buzzed from one snow-colored bloom to another while birds sang from their treetop nests. Johnny rejoiced over all these creatures living in the place he’d made. Although only with God’s help, he reminded himself.

Then Johnny spotted a creature climbing a tree trunk that wiped the smile right off his wrinkled face. A bear cub! If your mama’s near, I’m in trouble and no mistake. He took a frantic look around, knowing the most hazardous place in the woods was between a bear and her cub.

A growl came from the edge of the orchard, letting him know that was exactly where he was.

Johnny Appleseed never carried a weapon. Likely he wouldn’t have used it even if he did have one, for he refused to harm any living thing. However, the mother bear’s protective instincts meant she didn’t feel the same way. Baring her teeth, she tore after him.

So Johnny fled as fast as his two bare feet would go. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the runner he used to be. Even if he were still a young man, this angry black bear could outsprint a racehorse. Knowing it might be his last prayer, he begged, “Lord Almighty, send me some help!”

At that moment, the low hum in the surrounding trees swelled, and every honeybee left its blossom and darted toward the pursuing bear. With the same zeal they’d feel to guard their hive, they flew to save Johnny!

Fearful and fatigued though he was, Johnny paused to wave the swarm away. “No! You’ll die if you sting her! Leave her be.” And so the bees scattered and returned to their task while Johnny ran on.

Then a pair of cardinals swooped over his head. Devoted to the man who had planted their nesting trees, they would drive off this menacing mother with their beaks and claws!

Again, Johnny waved his potential saviors off, tired and terrified though he was. “No! She’ll strike you down! Go back to your eggs.”

And so the birds flew off while Johnny staggered on.

The bear grew ever closer, and Johnny, though not so spry as he used to be, scrambled into the branches of the largest tree in the orchard. There’s no better place for me to meet my Maker. He brushed the back of his calloused hand through a spray of apple blossoms as the mother bear neared the base of the tree.

At once, every bloom dropped from the boughs and swirled around the mother bear. Johnny hugged a branch, laughing and sobbing. “Oh, thank you for trying!” Although he couldn’t imagine just what the tree was trying to do—perhaps fool the bear into thinking the blossoms were snowflakes and she should return to her cave to sleep through the winter?

If so, it didn’t work. Instead, she stood on her hind legs with a ferocious growl, as if insulted by the idea she could be tricked. She ignored the frail petals—but her son did not.

Eagerly, he had followed his mother as she chased Johnny. Curious about the white cloud of blossoms surrounding her, he batted at them. The wind kept the petals whirling around his head, tickling his nose. He let out a whuff of delight.

The mother bear turned and saw her son at play. For a moment she hesitated, then, with a grunt, settled down beside him. She too swatted at the petals for a time. Then the hungry cub pawed her belly and she let him nurse. Above them, Johnny stayed right where he was.

When at last the baby bear was satisfied, his mother gave Johnny Appleseed one more doubtful glance, before leading him away.

Once they were out of sight, Johnny clambered down the lifesaving tree and gave it a pat. “They say ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away,’ but this is—”

***

Grandpa paused to let out a yawn.

“The first time I’ve ever known apple blossoms to do it!” I finished.

The laugh lines around Grandpa’s mouth deepened. “And here I thought you didn’t know this story!”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Pamela Love was born in New Jersey and worked as a teacher and in marketing before becoming a writer. Her work has appeared in Havok, Page & Spine, and Luna Station Quarterly. She is the 2020 winner of the Magazine Merit Fiction Award for her story “The Fog Test,” which appeared in Cricket. She and her family live in Maryland.

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