The Education of Little Tree

The Education of Little Tree
(少年小樹之歌)

"When you come on something that is good, first thing to do is share it with whoever you can find; that way, the good spreads out to where no telling it will go."

當你遇見美好的事物時所要做的第一件事，
就是把它分享給你四周的人；
這樣，美好的事物才能在這個世界上自由自在的散播開來。

一本謳歌自然，貼近自然，展現生命力的書。

書中的小樹(Little Tree)在爺爺(half-Cherokee)和奶奶(Cherokee)的陪伴下度過了生命中難忘的童年。

在"Mr. Wine"這一章中談到education:

Education was a two-part proposition:

• 1. Technical: How you moved ahead in your trade
• 2. Valuing: Place a value on being honest and thrifty, on doing your best, and on caring for folks; that was more important than anything else.

小樹的爺爺從自然中教育他。

• 1. 他教他"The Way"，大自然生命萬物有其生存的法則，人類應該"Take only what ye need"。
• 2. 小樹的爺爺雖然打獵，但是"Grandpa lived with the game, not at it"。
• 3. 從獵犬追逐狐狸的事件裡，他告訴他"You can't cheat without making unnecessary trouble for yourself"。
• 4. The woods would feed you, if you lived with the woods, instead of tearing them up.
• 5. Birds, like everything else, know if you like them. If you do, then they will come all around you.

他也教育小樹了解自己的查拉幾族(Cherokee)的歷史：

"If ye don't know the past, then ye will not have a future. If ye don't know where your people have been, then ye won't know where your people are going." 

   小樹的奶奶則是唸書給他聽，教他識字，培養他閱讀的習慣。我很喜歡這本書中"I Kin Ye, Bonnie Bee" (kin=love, ye=you, Bonnie Bee=Little Tree's grandmother)這一章中，奶奶唸書給小樹及爺爺聽發生的趣事。

   這是一本有愛、有歡笑、有悲傷、有趣味、又耐人尋味的書。書中有些文字雖然拼字不同，但閱讀久了，就熟悉了，也喜歡文字呈現的風格。這真是一本吸引人並「充滿愛和了解」的書。