June & The Calendrum

"It is not just the body falling apart that worries me", she said, sighing deeply. "I have this terrible fear that I will just become this little old woman who can't look after herself or support herself. I often think of this just before going to sleep at night and I've had nightmares about sitting in a field with nothing but grass around me, and I'm terribly hungry."

I suggested to visit the field in question, and we found a little old lady "all shrivelled up", sat in the middle of it, looking very miserable and lonely indeed.

June tried a number of things to cheer up the old woman, like building a house for her, but the woman refused to move in. She tried giving her money which the old woman did not accept, and even brought food but it was all refused.

Obviously, these were not the things the old woman needed or wanted.

June threw up her hands in despair. "I don't know what to do for her!" she exclaimed. "Miserable old cow! I wish she would just go away!"

Even as she said this, she had an idea. "I keep thinking about giving her something to plant in that field, something - like a calendrum plant!"

We both burst out laughing at that, and I said, "Well yes, obviously! Ahm, - and what IS a calendrum plant?"

Apparently, it was a medicinal kind of plant that carried small red, tomato like fruit which, when eaten, would somehow help to replace lost moisture and also be a refreshing tonic full of essential vitamins.

June offered her little old lady a calendrum plant in a pot and it was greedily snatched from her - what a difference to the refusals up to then. The old lady began planting the plant immediately, and it grew very quickly and she took fruit from it and began to eat it. As she did so, she began to stand up straighter and the lines in her face became less wrinkled.

June shifted in her chair and said, "Wow. That made the hair stand up on the back of my neck! What a strange feeling. But good. I feel - kind of different, lighter."

I was pleased that she was happy, and her little old lady (who started a market garden business for her calendrum plants) and after June had gone, I sneaked a calendrum plant of my own and added it to my orchard ...:-)