The Black Apple
I
There once lived a little boy who was determined from birth to be a servant to the king and queen. But it was not from any wrongdoing by the boy for his cursed circumstance. Three generations before, his great-grandfather had gambled away more money than he had owned so the harsh king’s court took his house and sentenced his family to everlasting servitude.
The boy grew up in the basement of the magnificent royal castle watching his father graciously serve the king. When the boy turned ten years, he was to work alongside his father. Until then he was allowed to play in the yard. When the king sailed off to inspect his other kingdoms, the king’s son came down into the yard to play with the boy.
The boy taught the prince how to fish and how to climb trees. They played in the creek and laughed while they threw mud clumps at each other. The prince was not allowed to do such things when the king was home. He would soon stay inside and learn the lands that he was destined to take over when he became king.
One day the prince grew jealous of the boy and challenged him to a fight. The boy wrestled the prince to the ground and sat on top of him and they both laughed. The prince saw that the boy was underfed so he told the boy to keep quiet and follow him to forbidden grounds behind the castle. With a newfound humbleness the young prince presented the royal garden. In the center stood a magnificent apple orchid that towered the garden with layers of delicious apples. The prince told the boy he was to only take one apple. These were magic apples that only the royal family was allowed to eat. Just this once the boy was permitted.
The boy grabbed the thickest apple he could find and bit into it with great pleasure. To the boy's amazement, a ghost shot out from the hole in the apple. It was of the boy's great-grandfather! His grandfather was so glad to see him but he only had a moment to speak. The boy's grandfather warned the boy that eating the apple will give him new strength but he still must accept his role as a servant without complaint. The boy must serve the king dutifully if he ever wanted to set his family free. That might become possible with this new gift. Great-grandfather said sorry that the boy had become a servant for life and said that it was his fault. Most importantly he said that strangers may not take more than one apple from the tree or else they would fall from the height of the apple hanging from the branch.
II
Soon after that beautiful day in the garden, the young boy turned ten and joined his father in servitude of the king and queen. With the power of the magic apple, the boy became the best servant the royal family had ever had. The evening feast was always delicious and the castle floors glowed in the moonlight.
The boy became a man as decades passed in service. Very often the servant thought about running away or refusing to serve the king. But then he remembered what his great-grandfather had said that day in the garden.
When the young man’s father turned had turned the respected age of sixty, the servant declared he would work twice as much to allow his father to rest.
Then suddenly, the king died of a heart attack.
The next morning, the entire kingdom mourned in the streets. There was a prayer and a feast in the king’s name. Then everyone rejoiced as the once young prince was swept through the street in a parade towards the castle to become the king.
In a moment of joy, the new king called forth the servant and his father.
"Servants. You have nobly served my family's kingdom for over century. You showed me friendship when we were young and now I am the king. I will find new servants. Your family is now free. You may live in the hut outside the castle if you wish."
So the man’s father lived in the small hut to spend his days wandering in the creeks and woods while the young man set off for the village to find work.
The former servant desired for more than his little life in the hut. How he dreamed of spending his days cooking delicious meals and exploring nature. This dream stayed with him as he went around to ask where work was to be found. But there was no work in this village for a former servant.
Not knowing what else to do, the man walked along the river to fish like he used to as a child. He caught enough to fill his stomach and kept on until he reached the seaside kingdom. This was the newest of the great king’s lands.
Here the man met the friendly village people and traded his fish for shelter. After some years of patiently fishing and hunting, he built a small house for his family.
For years the man worked long hours and grew very tired. The power that he once had from the apple had faded.
III
Yet the man carried on for many more years. Then one day he heard that the new king of the seaside kingdom was expected to dine at the village’s harvest festival. If only he could impress seaside king with a delicious meal, then he might get the chance to work in his luxurious castle. The man had heard that those working men were settling on beautiful lands by the seaside kingdom. There the he could make enough money to spend his days freely and his son could join the ranks.
There was only one way to be certain that this meal would be divine.
The desperate man dashed along the river back to the forbidden grounds of the royal garden. Though he had never entered alone, the secret back path he had known as a child allowed him in. Inside the gate the once glorious apple tree was barren except for a brittle black apple dangling from the lowest branch. The man paused. After a moment he decided that this was his only chance for his dream. He hoped the apple would have just enough juice to give him power to make the meal. He bit the apple.
In an instant a ghost flew out of the apple and knocked the man down to the ground. Then several more ghosts flew out of the tree and the sky went from grey to black. Finally two more ghosts came out carrying swords in one hand as they dragged the man’s great-grandfather with the other. The ghost guard sliced the man’s hand. The black apple fell to the ground. Smoke filled the air.
The man had a vision of his great-grandfather. He watched his great-grandfather eat a basket of apples from the tree. Except he was much younger. Then he was a player at the poker table. He saw his great-grandfather push all the coins aggressively only to see them go to the other players. Then his great-grandfather was pulled out by the same soldiers he saw today. The air cleared.
The man’s head was spinning now. “Spit it out” said his great-grandfather with a blade to his neck. The man began to lose balance.
“Eat it” was the last familiar voice the man heard as he fell and swallowed the apple.
IV
When he woke he was inside the king’s lair and chained to the floor.
“Servant! You once served humbly but what has happened? Do you think you are fit to eat like a king? Like me? You may have freed yourself but you have come into my territory. Goodbye old friend.”
And with that two guards grabbed the man by either arm. The king raised his sword high. Then he was interrupted by a rolling red apple at his feet.
In the castle entrance was the man’s son dragging a prisoner of his own. He put his foot on the boy who was tied up with rope. He stood tall with one foot on the prisoner and reached into his pocket and revealed a large red apple. With a smile and bite, he stepped aside to reveal the king’s son as the prisoner.
The young man and the king agreed to a fair trade. His father for the king’s son.
V
Back at the seaside festival, the man made the seaside king the most delicious stew he had ever tasted. The new king insisted that the chef come to work for him in the seaside castle. The man hesitated for a moment but the king insisted.
“Take my son” the man said to him calmly. “He’s the one who helped me with the secret ingredient.
“And what is it?” the seaside king asked enthusiastically.
“Apple cider.”