Xiaoshu, an 8-year-old American boy, unfortunately lost both parents. Grandparents took him back to the mountains where they lived.
In the short years when the three grandchildren lived together, the grandparents taught the boys the most precious treasures in life in the most simple way- the laws of life, respect for the self, the understanding of survival and death, and the use of "experience" to forge tough qualities.
"The Story of the Little Tree" is a film suitable for children to watch, and it is also suitable for those of us who seem to be on the road to parenting. An old couple in the film not only taught the boy Xiaoshu the most remarkable knowledge, but also taught us a wonderful lesson in front of the screen.
< h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > choice must persist and grow in experience</h1>
After a long journey, the boy finally came to his grandparents' wooden house in the mountains, exhausted. However, Grandpa woke him up early the next morning. Although Grandma has been distressed about the child's hard work, Grandpa said that "it is up to him to choose whether he can get up or not.". Grandpa told the little tree, "We're going to the cornfield, and I guess you'll be happy to go together, you decide for yourself." ”
There is no preaching, no persecution, only encouragement.
The little tree dragged his tired body outside the house to go to the cornfield with his grandparents. He chose tenacity, and his grandparents were overjoyed.
One day, Xiaoshu and Grandpa go to the town down the hill to sell homemade distilled liquor. Grandpa suggested that the little tree should be filled with two jars in the bag, but the competitive boy said "3.". Grandpa said, "Really? I put 3 in and you have to carry 3. The jar was not light, and the little tree took a few steps straight after taking the bag. On the way down the mountain, the little tree carried the bag hard and carefully (not breaking the glass jar in the bag), but Grandpa had no intention of helping him lighten his burden.
Didn't Grandpa love the little tree? No, many of the details in the film convey the old man's love for his grandson. However, the qualities that a man who lives on that earth should have, Grandpa thinks that the little tree needs to find and have it with his own feet and by his own faith.
Little Tree was tricked into being tricked into going in the town and bought a skinny calf for the rewards his grandfather had given him for his labor. The grandparents saw at a glance that it was a calf that was dying, but they didn't say anything. As a result, the calves died on their way back to the hut.
Grandpa told Xiaoshu, "If I stop you from buying cattle, you'll always remember." If I told you to buy it, you would blame me for its death. There is no other way for you to understand, unless you experience it yourself. ”
No obstruction, no blame, no thunder, no nagging. However, the boy achieved important growth through the experience.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > recognize and understand life and death</h1>
Little Tree and grandparents went to the cornfield early in the morning, and the sky gradually turned brighter. The three of them were feeling the joy of the earth's rejuvenation, but a soaring falcon in the sky suddenly grabbed one of the birds, and the little tree was surprised.
Grandma calmly told the boy, "Don't be sad, little tree, this is the law of survival." Falcons catch birds that fly slowly and help them get faster. ”
Little Tree and Grandpa encountered a rattlesnake in the valley, and Grandpa was bitten by a snake in order to save Little Tree, and developed symptoms of poisoning. Grandma rushed to Grandpa's side after hearing the letter from Xiaoshu and took some first aid measures as much as she could, but Grandpa's condition was not optimistic.
That night, the worried little tree asked grandma, "You dealt with him, he won't die, will he?" "Young Tree has already experienced the death of his parents, and he should be particularly afraid of death compared to children of the same age.
Grandma replied lightly: "Little tree, life is full of all kinds of death, and I see the people walking around in the town, they are no different from the dead, because their lives are full of miserliness and greed." Their souls are small, not the size of a bean. For to make the soul strong, the only way to make it strong is to temper it. You'll have to use it to understand. The harder you try to understand, the stronger your soul becomes. Until it is indestructible. You'll understand, remember your past life, and I think your grandfather is close to understanding this, even though he doesn't know it himself. But if his body dies, he will remember us too. ”
The young tree may not really understand grandma's words, but his fear of death has calmed down that night. And he may have come to a hazy understanding that death is not only about death, but also about being alive. Some people are like dead; some people, even if they are dead, are still alive in people's hearts.
How to make children understand life and death is a difficult lesson for any parent. Hearing the simple and philosophical narration of Grandma Xiaoshu, I felt that my shocked heart could not be calmed for a long time...
Luckily, Grandpa survived the storm.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > tell children that "everyone should have their own secret base."</h1>
That morning, Grandpa told Xiaoshu, "Instead of working all morning, go find yourself a secret base." It's a place that belongs only to you, and sometimes you feel the need to go to that place. The boy and his dog excitedly walked through the woods, and finally he chose a creek in the valley.
The boy at that time may have just felt fresh and did not realize the true meaning of the secret base for himself.
Soon after, because his grandparents were living in seclusion in the mountains and unable to send Xiaoshu to school, the social welfare agency took Xiaoshu away, sent him to an Indian boarding school, and asked him to stay there until he was 18 years old. Grandparents tried to appeal but were told by a lawyer that there was no hope. Little Tree had to leave her grandparents and go to boarding school alone.
There, shortages and inferior food are not yet the worst. Most sadly, in the face of tedious and demanding precepts, the open and sincere nature of the little tree has been greatly challenged. Because of his honesty, he was beaten and locked up for a long time. It was a terrible time, and the originally lively and cheerful child became almost wooden. I believe that if it were not for the teachings given to him by his grandparents, he might have collapsed?
One night, Grandpa pried open the lock on the school gate and took the little tree with him.
The little tree that had returned to the mountain seemed to be cleansed physically and mentally, and he threw away the heavy shoes on his feet, and trampled barefoot on the soft ground in the mountain forest, shouting in pain. When he got home, he took his dog and ran to his secret base. This time, the 9-year-old boy knew he deserved to be there.
Seeing that paragraph, I was actually envious. Yes, who doesn't need a secret base that belongs only to them? In addition to happiness and joy on the road of life, there are also complicated and difficult things in the world, and perhaps each of us wants to have a place that belongs only to us. There, anxiety, timidity, fear, self-sufficiency can be removed... There is a place where we believe we will never lose ourselves.
The government came again to take Xiaoshu back to the boarding school, and each time his grandparents took him to hide at the top of the mountain, where no one could find him. Unfortunately, on the way to the top of the mountain, the elderly grandfather fell down, and this time he was not so lucky. Grandpa shook Xiaoshu's hand before he died and said, "This time is good, but next time it will be better." Grandma followed Grandpa that night.
Since then, Xiaoshu has lived with an Indian ancestor he respects, and has traveled all over his homeland to become a real Indian. And those survival rules that his grandparents taught him, he never forgot. He looked forward to the day he was reunited with his grandparents.
epilogue:
This film actually has a very grand background of era, race, religion, etc., but this article does not introduce and describe it.
Looking at this film from the perspective of education alone, as an old mother, it is really emotional.
The laws and wisdom of life are actually hidden in life, but we often hinder the pace of children's experience.
The child's choice is actually related to the cultivation of character, but we always make decisions for the child.
Children long for a private area in the process of self-seeking, but we are afraid that children will have secrets behind our backs...
Such a great film, maybe we can take fewer detours?