The Apple Tree

Disclaimer: I don't own Lord of the Rings Tolkien does, and New Line Cinema owns the movies.

Digory and Polly came to an orchard filled with apple trees; the orchard was surrounded by a fence. In front of the gate were instructions on how to take an apple; Digory and Polly obeyed those instructions. They walked through the gate and saw mouth watering apples. Digory plucked one from the nearest tree and put it in his pocket.

Not too far away he saw the white witch take a bite out of the apple; the bite from the apple made her look pale. When she saw them, she approached them with the apple in her hand.

"Digory dear," she said in her sweet voice.

Digory looked at her.

"Wouldn't you like to eat that sweet apple you picked? It would give you eternal life."

"Aslan, told me not to eat it."

"But these apples are so sweet; this the most delicious thing I have ever tasted."

She showed Digory the apple she held in her hand.

"But it makes you look terrible."

"It will only make me look pale for a few minutes, but soon it will bring color back to my cheeks," lied the witch. "The apple tastes so sweet, and it makes me feel so much better. I have never felt so alive before. Don't be a fool, you have the apple in your hands; take a bite."

"Aslan told us to get the apple for him."

"You are going to listen to what a mere lion tells you?" she said scornfully.

"He's not just any lion, he's Aslan, the son of the Emperor over sea who made Narnia; he gave some of the animals the gift of speech," Digory answered.

"I heard that your mother is very sick."

"So you've heard."

"Why don't you take the apple home to her?"

"Aslan wants the apple; we told him that we were going to pick one for him."

"Aslan doesn't need the apple as much as your mother does," the white witch said in her honey sweet voice. If you feed her the apple, she would be cured of her illness."

Polly who was listening to their conversation all this time did not trust her words. Polly heard her honey sweet voice, but she also saw her eyes and they looked cold.

"Don't trust her," Polly said quietly to Digory.

The witch looked daggers at Polly, and then she turned her attention to Digory again.

"Don't you want your mother to get well?"

"Yes."

"Then take the apple to her and feed her with it so that it will make her feel better."

Digory pondered her words.

I should take the apple home to mother; the white witch is right she needs it more than Aslan, and I want her to get well, he thought.

"I will take the apple home to mother," he told the white witch.

"Don't listen to her," Polly warned. "Aslan told us to take it to him."

"Aslan doesn't need it," Digory said angrily.

"We should trust Aslan," she said equally angry. "He never did us any wrong, not like the white witch."
"Shut up, Polly," Digory said rudely while he gave her a push.

Digory touched the yellow ring in his pocket and disappeared.

A satisfying smile spread over the face of the white witch.

"Hmph," she said proudly to Polly.

Polly's eyes were downcast and they were filled with tears, and her lips were shaped into a pout. She climbed on Fledges back, and they flew away.

Meanwhile, Digory was back in England. He was whistling a tune while he was walking home. His happiness was as great as a song bird's.

When he came home, he opened the door and walked straight upstairs to his mother's bedroom. He saw her in bed, wrapped in warm blankets. She looked pale and sweaty, and her eyes were glassy.

"Digory, sweetheart, is that you?" she asked in a raspy voice.

Her throat was very sore, and she was very thirsty.

"Yes, it's me mother," Digory answered.

"Can you get me a glass of water? I am so thirsty."

"I have something better for you mother."

He put the apple to her mouth and she took a bite. The first bite of the apple tasted sweeter than honey; she had never tasted anything so delicious before, but she also started to feel strange. All of a sudden she felt more ill than before. Her eyes became glassier, her face turned from pale to white, and she began to sweat more. Her whole body was aching very badly and she had hard time breathing. She started to take large gasps of air.

Digory Noticed this. His mouth was opened and he looked at her with horror filled eyes.

"Mother!" he cried in shock.

She took her last breath and laid still.

"No!" cried Digory. "The apple was supposed to cure you!"

Digory wailed while tears started to pour down his cheeks in torrents.

He realized that he was deceived by the white witch.

Polly is right; I should have listened to Aslan, he thought.

The End