THE STORY OF THE CYPRESS TREE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXI, 3 December 1927, Page 10

THE STORY OF THE CYPRESS TREE

y. —■ . This is the legend of the cypress, the beautiful tree which we plant in our church yards to watch over the quiat sleepers. In warmer lands the cypress grows in the forests, and to a very great height. In ancient Greece there lived a boy called Cyparissus, and he was very dearly loved by Apollo, the sun god, who liked to see him roaming in the forest, playing with all the little wild creatures. Now in this forest lived a magnificent stag,that belonged to Apollo and was tended by the wood nymphs. He was very tame and he wore a wonderful necklace of jewels; but no man hunted him for everyone knew he belonged to the sun god. His greatest friend was Cyparissus. Cyparissus and the stag were always together. Sometimes they raced one another in the woodo, but the sta r ' always won; sometimes, [the stag would carry Cyparissus on his back and gallop with him to a lovely stream, where the boy would make a necklace of waterlilies and hang it round his friend's neck. One day when these two friends were together, Cyparissus took his bow and arrow and shot at' a' shadow in the bushes. Alas! i he arrow turned as'.ide, and entered the slag's heart. The beautiful creature looked at Cyparissus with great sorrowful eyes, and died. ' -< " \ The -boy -a. grief wag,.so, .great that he would not be' comforted. "I have killed my friend," he went. "1 will grieve for ever." Even the great Apollo could not comfort him, and, as Cyparissus was pining away, he changed him into a cypress tree. "Now you ran live for ever in the forests von love s 0 well." said Apollo (o the beautiful tree, "but you shall also be the symbol of grief, land mourn for those who have passed on to the Islands of the Blessed."