Rhiann carefully removed a second “toot and see scroll” fruit. At the instant the fruit separated from the tree, the remaining eleven mature fruits and recently developed nubbin fell from the tree, landed on the green grass, shimmered briefly, and crumbled into gray dust. Patches of gray earth remained where the scrolls fell onto the grass. The dirt had the consistency of soot from an old fire and no aura of Magick. The tree was now simply an attractive green bush thirteen feet tall. Rhiann removed the first fruit from his pocket. It remained intact.
Rhiann cried out, “****!”
The Tree Shepherd commented, “A painful lesson. Magick seldom rewards greed. One must remove only one fruit and allow the harvested fruit’s bud must to mature.”
benjamintowe 