Robin Neihardt, Classical Guitar
A tale from the folklore tradition . . .
"He was born midway through the last century. Even at an early age, he yearned for enlightenment and was drawn to fine music. He fell in love with a recording by Andres Segovia, and listened to it constantly. As a young man, he was taken into the military, preventing him from pursuing his dream of music. He was sent off to war. He returned safe, but horrified by the killing. In his bewildered state, he wandered off into a dense forest and became hopelessly lost."
"Time passed, as he wandered in the wilderness. One day, he came across a massive vine growing across the trail he was following. The trail had led down into a small enchanting valley. The vine was magical in its enormity. A refreshing breeze blew up the valley and he decided to rest a bit. Sitting there musing, his eyes followed the growth of the massive vine. It grew high over the valley, supported by an enormous jacaranda tree."
"As the breeze blew, he heard faint, melodic sounds coming from high up the vine. The vine was covered with large, hand-sized leaves with long stems that rustled softly. Finally, he discovered the source of the melodic sounds. One of the leaves was brushing gently across what appreared from the ground to be an oddly shaped portion of vine. The melodious sounds were coming from there. Curious, he began climbing the vine. As he neared the portion of the vine he observed from below, he was amazed to find it was a perfectly formed guitar growing from the magical vine! The fruit of this vine was a classical guitar."
"He pulled the instrument from the vine and with it descended back down the vine to the ground. The "guitar fruit" was glorious to behold. Finely shaped and beautifully finished, it was a masterwork. He sat on a portion of the vine, took the instrument on his lap, and miraculously began to play all the pieces he had loved so well as a young boy listening to his Segovia album."
"Perhaps there is another version of the tale, however this is the only one I know. . ."