Missing the Fruit for the Ladder

Missing the Fruit for the Ladder is a children’s book about growing up and forgetting and remembering what is important along the way. In the story, a wandering boy takes a seat on a hillside and notices a tree sapling sprouting nearby. As the tree grows, it begins to bear fruit. The boy is hungry, but he realizes that the fruit is beyond his reach so he begins building a ladder. As he works, he becomes focused on the ladder, forgetting his hunger and the fruit and the ladder’s purpose. Though the ladder grows bigger and stronger, the boy becomes so busy with his work he does not notice that he is sick and that it is getting darker and colder. His complete focus on the ladder distracts him from the fruit all around him and the sun’s warmth just beyond the shadows.

Not until he is unexpectedly jolted from his busy stupor does the boy begin to see things more clearly. With his eyes opening, he becomes aware of himself and the tree and he begins to care for both. As their health improves, he sees and understands more of himself and his surroundings and realizes that all along…he’s been missing the fruit for the ladder.