American man Philip? Roland was the president of an investment company on Wall Street. In 2009, the turmoil in the securities market dealt a fatal blow to his company. The company had to file for bankruptcy, and Philip went from a multimillionaire to a pauper overnight.
In order to find a chance to make a comeback, Philip decided? Fight? Tahiti, Australia invested in black pearls, but it failed again. At the end of the road, an interesting species called baobab inadvertently inspired him, which not only greatly changed his life, but also made him understand the true meaning of a happy life.
Weird legacy.
20 10 10 Philip, who had been bankrupt for a year, hurried to Tahiti with hard-earned funds. He intended to invest in Black Pearl, but he was cheated again in the shopping mall and lost all his money.
In desperation, Philip had a high fever and was admitted to the hospital. He asked his friend in America for help, but no one answered. On October 5th, 65438/KLOC-0, Philip was lying alone in the ward, feeling very sad. Suddenly, the door of the ward was pushed open, and Lena, who was travel-stained, appeared in front of Philip. Kidman.
Lena used to work for Philip. She is young and beautiful, and she is enthusiastically pursued by Philip. However, her attitude towards Philip was always cold, which made Philip gradually lose his courage. So when Lena appeared in front of her, Philip couldn't believe it. Lena told Philip that she came to Tahiti to inherit an inheritance. When she heard that Philip was in trouble, she planned to help her former boss. She wants to hire Philip to manage Tahiti's industry for herself.
Although I don't understand why Lena is like this, Philip has no better choice. He accepted the job with great excitement. What he didn't expect was that everything that followed simply stunned him. He never thought he would deal with such a property, a baobab forest on the outskirts of Tahiti.
Baobab originated in Africa and distributed in the vast area of Tahiti. This strange plant has a history of 3000 years, and its branches are thick. It is reported that the trunk of the largest baobab tree can accommodate forty people. The most amazing thing is that after baking, its fruit tastes and nutrition are the same as bread.
Lena's grandfather was a quarter of Australian aborigines, and his early family business included a baobab forest. Grandfather donated all his property before he died, leaving only this forest for Lena to inherit. More interestingly, most of the baobabs in the forest are rented to local natives, and only a few dozen are left unattended, all of which are about 50 years old. Philip realized that the next thing he could do for Lena was to invest the rent reasonably and then sell the remaining ten trees. But when he saw the rent account, Philip sighed. It seems that Lena's grandfather only received a nominal rent, which is equivalent to rent-free, so only the remaining ten baobabs can sell for a good price. Seeing that one of the trees has a hollow tree hole near 10 square meter, Philip moved into a new house in the tree hole.
In fact, as early as the last century, Australian aborigines lived in tree holes, where it was warm in winter and cool in summer, which was much more cost-effective and free than spending money on public houses developed by the government. However, due to their remoteness, some indigenous descendants now give up living in tree holes. Looking at the cramped cave, Philip felt depressed, and he felt that he had returned to the primitive tribal times. On the other hand, Lena was ecstatic. Like a child who got a new toy, she excitedly moved into one of the tree holes with an area of about 8 square meters.
The wonderful use of a tree
Lina agrees to Philip's idea of selling baobab trees for two months, but Lina will not pay any commission to Philip before the sale. She told Philip that according to the local people, ten bread trees produce enough fruit for both of them every year. In other words, they can live on trees even if they have no other income. Moreover, the plants here are lush and the air is fresh. Lina plans to enjoy it here in February. Philip has no objection. He thought it was easy to sell ten trees with his sales eloquence.
The next day, he went to Tahiti to sell baobabs. I don't know, it's not that simple: Tahiti is a tourist city, and all the local aborigines have their own houses. Visitors will not invest in ten trees at one time, and the advantages of baobabs listed by Philip have not attracted them.
Lena still travels every day and comes back at night. Philip was holding ten trees alone and wanted to cry. Seeing that he was short of money, he had to start trying to bake baobab fruit as food. However, this process is not troublesome. Just pick the huge fruit and bake it in the fire. About five or six minutes, peel off the shell and take out the pulp, and you can eat it as bread.
The taste of breadfruit is unique, with a natural plant fragrance, not particularly sweet, but extremely refreshing. To kill time, Philip tried to bake bread. He borrowed money from Lena and bought local spices, sea salt, butter and other items in the small market. Take out the fruit of the bread tree and bake it with different materials. As a result, Philip found this unique bread really delicious!
Philip also gave the extra bread to the owner of a nearby bar and some guests. Unexpectedly, this American-style roasted fruit attracted many tourists, and the bar owner specially ordered it from Philip. Although the number is small, at least it earns income. However, Philip, who got the manuscript fee, was not very happy. He remembered that he used to have tens of millions of single businesses, and now this small business of several hundred dollars is just killing time.
20 1 1 February, Tahiti entered summer. Early in the morning, Philip found that the natives who rented the tree house were cutting the bark of the baobab tree. Philip had an argument with the leading aboriginal, but the man told Philip that the bark of the baobab tree would not cause fatal injury because of its thick branches, but it would be beneficial to the growth of the baobab tree. They cut off bark to make new clothes at this time of year. It turns out that the bark of baobab tree has a very special fiber structure, which is warm in winter and cool in summer. As long as the fiber is peeled off, it can be woven into cloth.
1 week later, Philip saw the cloth woven by the tenants. He was surprised to find that these fabrics were very soft and comfortable to touch. A thought flashed through Philip's mind:? Can this be used as a gimmick to launch this fabric at a high price in the United States? In this way, maybe I can get a chance to turn over in the mall. ?
Great joy made Philip hot-headed. He used all his money to buy a dozen pieces of cloth woven from baobab bark and sent it back to America. He even planned to buy the cheapest air ticket to fly back to the United States to promote this fabric, but he gave up because he had a contract with Lina first. Philip thought Lena would be happy with her discovery, but Lena just asked Philip faintly: Can only money bring you happiness? Excited Philip didn't recognize the meaning of this sentence, but he just described his ambitious future!
The law of happiness
While waiting for news from the United States, Philip intends to study the use of baobab bark in order to have greater use value. After being introduced, he visited the local indigenous old man Bourne and his wife Mika. They own a whole baobab tree forest, and the hole they use in the tree is 20 square meters, which is divided into two floors, which is very exquisite. Bowen showed great enthusiasm for Philip's suggestion. He took out a pale yellow wine for Philip to taste. The taste is so charming that Philip sighed strangely! After drinking half a bottle, he was drunk and didn't wake up until midnight. In a trance, he saw Bourne busy outside the tree house.
When Philip walked out of the tree house, he saw a scene that shocked him: by moonlight, baobabs in the forest were in full bloom, and white flowers were blooming at night, which was simply beautiful. Bowen told Philip that the wine he drank in the morning was made of honey and fruit from baobab flowers. This flower only blooms at night, and it is very big, but there is not much honey, but it will be very mellow if it is used as a foundation in wine. This wine contains very nutritious tartaric acid and various vitamins. If the fruit is ground into powder alone, it can be brewed like coffee, and it can also play a refreshing role.
In the morning Mika brought a thread-bound book, which is said to record the dressing method of baobab bark. Philip looked carefully and realized that the bark of baobab trees can also be made into ropes, mats, baskets and paper. Those leaves can be made into good spices when cooked, and pollen can be made into all-purpose glue. This is so weird! Bowen told Philip that he and Mika had been living in a tree house. Clothing, food, shelter, transportation, eating, wearing and using all come from baobab trees. Such self-sufficiency makes them very happy.
After saying goodbye to Bourne, Philip returned to his tree house thoughtfully. He never thought that a plant could be so compatible with human life, so he decided to try to transform his ten trees. So, with Lena's consent, Philip decorated the tree house and turned the hollowed-out part of the largest tree into a tree that could accommodate ten people. He also brewed fruit wine, baked bread, and used bark to make wine and tableware. A group of tourists who smelled the fragrance passing through the Woods became the tasters of his first wine-making achievements. Everyone eats baobab food and drinks to their heart's content. Philip felt that he had not been so happy for a long time.
This kind of gathering knowledge spread quickly, and some tourists came here. Philip also made a beautiful canoe from wood. At night, he took Lena boating on the water and watched the white flowers shining in the moonlight. It was very pleasant!
20 1 1 In early winter, Philip forgot to go back to America. Neither he nor Lena mentioned the two-month deadline, but they took care of ten baobab trees together and made friends with interesting tourists passing by.
On this day, a middle-aged man named Fabian planned to rent a tree house in Philip for a long time. He told Philip that his home was in Vancouver, and he almost exhausted all his energy in order to socialize and accumulate wealth in his early years. However, two months ago, a good friend of his suddenly collapsed during the meeting and died from overwork. This incident is a great stimulus to Faben. When he saw the strange place of baobab forest in Tahiti, he planned to settle here and bring his family together.
After listening to Fabian's experience, Philip seems to see the shadow of the past from him. If you don't stop to enjoy the scenery of life, how do you know what kind of fun life will eventually bring you? Philip buried his empty box deep in the forest. He had a plan!
The United States also got the news at this time. Claude, an American friend who received the cloth, got an order to cooperate with the clothing company. He urged Philip to cooperate with him, but Philip declined Claude's request, saying: Although I don't have much money now, I live happily! ?
In the evening, Lena felt Philip's relaxed mood. Philip looked at Lena calmly and said emotionally. It's good to be with you! ? They rowed canoes and fished in the middle of the night accompanied by starlight and fish. In the morning, they found a small bud on the tree. Spring is coming. At that moment, Philip was filled with great emotion and joy. He suddenly found that the world around him was so wonderful, and he used to be so narrow.
Lena also expressed her feelings to Philip at this moment. In fact, she has always loved Philip, but she just can't accept Philip's character of blindly pursuing fame and fortune. Instead of leaving her grandfather a legacy in Tahiti, she bought these ten baobabs with all her savings. However, she did hear from her grandfather that there is a law of happiness among Australian aborigines: when a man grows up, if he owns ten baobabs, he can marry a beautiful wife and live happily for a lifetime! That's why Lena bought ten baobabs for Philip.
On March 20 12, Philip returned to America. But he is not doing any business, but promoting a public welfare cause in the United States? Lohas apocalypse? Plan. Philip intends to let more people experience the simple life of owning baobab trees in Tahiti for free in winter. Philip wrote a heartfelt sentence on Twitter's personal homepage: the needs of life are extremely simple, but we often misunderstand. In fact, it is not wealth or status that brings us happiness, relaxation and pleasure. But to know how to get rid of the bubbles caused by those inner desires! ?
African folktales The clever chameleon
On the vast African prairie, there is a small chameleon. He lives a leisurely and happy life, but proud leopards and arrogant crocodiles often disturb his quiet life. Facing the seemingly powerful opponent, the weak chameleon came up with a wonderful way.
This is a folk story from ancient Africa, a simple fable, telling the problems that everyone will encounter. Colorful and warm pictures vividly show the scenery and rich species of tropical grassland. The story will inspire children to think: what is strong and what is weak? Which is more useful than strength?
African folktales
A hunter made a long hunting trip. When he was roasting the meat of his prey in a place, a hungry cat came up and begged the hunter to give it some meat to eat. It said: it will repay the hunter in the future. The hunter satisfied the cat's request, and then the cat walked away.
The next day, the hunter found a crocodile in the deep grass while looking for prey. The crocodile told the hunter that it was too far from the water when it came ashore to hunt the day before, and now it can't go back. He also said that if the hunter was willing to help him, he would catch fish five times to repay him. The hunter tied the crocodile's leg with a rope and took it into the water. The crocodile thanked the hunter for his kindness, and then jumped into the water. Soon, the crocodile got fish for the hunter four times, but the place where it put the fish was closer to the water every time. And said he was tired. For the last time, it simply put the fish in the deep water and said that she really didn't have the strength to get to the shore and let the hunter go in the water to get it. But just as the hunter entered the water, the crocodile suddenly opened its mouth, bit the hunter's foot and dragged him into the water. Soon, he was dragged to an island and invited his brothers to enjoy a big meal.
The hunter said to the crocodile who came from all directions: I helped your friend, and he wanted to eat me in turn. Do you think this is fair? The crocodile said to him, let's listen to four opinions first, and then decide whether it is fair or not. So the hunter asked a rotten mat, a rag and an old horse that floated in to see if it was fair for the crocodile to do so. Rotten mats, rags and old horses are very angry, because people think they are old, worn out and useless, so they abandon them. They say that if it is fair for humans to treat used items like this, then crocodiles are also fair to hunters.
Finally, the cat that the hunter helped came. This is the hunter's last chance to ask for advice. The cat listened to the hunter's description and said lukewarm, I don't know much about this either. I can't believe you. I still want to hear what the crocodile has to say. The crocodile complained that the hunter tied it with a rope and dragged it into the water by force. The cat said, I don't believe what you said. You'd better let the hunter tie you up with a rope again, and we'll go to the scene to practice it ourselves before I can make a decision. So they went to the place where the hunter saved the crocodile. At this time, the cat asked the hunter to leave the crocodile, and the two left. It's no use making crocodiles scream.
The story is lively and interesting, full of philosophy. It lets us learn from the complaints of rotten seats, rags and old horses, and don't treat second-hand goods with the bad habit of liking the new and hating the old; It tells us to save ourselves with wisdom in times of crisis. The hunter saved a crocodile, and then what? Farmers and snakes? The story is the same, reminding us that some things will bite the hand that feeds them; The cat used a trick to get the crocodile back from the water, and then? Mr. Dong Guo and the Wolf? 、? Fishermen and monsters? When the stories are very similar. The moral of this story is: (1) Those who bite the hand that feeds them are evil, and they deserve it; (2) The wisdom of good people should always be higher than that of evil people.