This article used to be optional for middle schools. )
On the slope near the residence, there are two old and lush banyan trees, which cover the sky and shade the sun. Between the lead-gray cement buildings, there is a pleasing green swaying; On a hot summer day, take a look at a pool of tempting coolness. I don't know when, a small piece of flat land was dug under the banyan tree, a slide and a pavilion for children to play with were built, and many flowers were planted around it, which actually became a small children's world. Maybe I have a kind feeling about banyan trees. I often take my youngest son for a walk here in the early morning or at dusk, or sit on a green bench and watch the children play, which has a leisurely taste.
I was very happy that day and was moved by a childlike innocence. I picked a green leaf from a banyan branch, rolled it into a small whistle, put it in my mouth and blew a monotonous and simple whistle. The youngest son jumped up happily, grabbed it and blew hard, which led a little black dog to run over, wagging his furry tail and looking up at him with black eyes. He stopped whistling, and the puppy ran away disappointed; He blew again, and the puppy came running again ... making the youngest son giggle, with a faint blush on his pink cheek.
But my heart is like a bird, spreading its wings from the whistle, flying over misty water and endless mountains and stopping under the familiar big banyan tree in my hometown. I seem to see Lv Yun's tall and burly trunk, curly and fluttering beard and thick clouds; See the new leaves in spring, facing the golden sunshine, as transparent as pieces of jasper, shaking in the wind like earrings, shaking off a string of crystal dew.
I miss the clear stream flowing from the back of my hometown, the colorful pebbles in the stream, the girls washing clothes and pumping water by the stream, and the ducks chasing and laughing on the water. Miss the white stone bridge under the banyan tree, miss the carved stone tablet standing at the bridge head, and miss the little stone lion stroking and smoothing on the bridge railing. The gurgling stream swept away my childhood years, and the ancient stone bridge engraved my deep memory. There are as many stories in my memory as the leaves of banyan trees. ...
Two old banyan trees standing by the bridge, one tall and lush; Another tree has grown into a strange S-shape, and its bony trunk leans against the stream. We all call it "hunchback". What's more, its bent tree core was burned out, forming a horizontal groove, but it still lived tenaciously, crossing the stream, holding its head high and stretching its dense branches and leaves into the blue sky. When we were young, we had a special affection for this hunchback, and regarded its hollow groove as a "boat". Several partners climbed up, knocked on gongs and drums, and paddled with bamboo poles, knowing that this "boat" would not take a step forward, but paddled seriously and vigorously. In my childhood dream, it will take us along the stream, to the fields where autumn seedlings are green, to bypass the hillside burning with red azaleas, to cross the orange forest with fragrant small white flowers, to the rivers and seas, and to distant and beautiful places. ...
Sometimes we ask: Why did this hunchbacked old banyan tree burn like this? Listen to the old man, a long time ago, there was a big snake hidden in this tree hole, which became refined for a long time and wanted to ascend to heaven; However, by hurting people and animals, he broke the dogma and angered the Jade Emperor. So one night, dark clouds pressed on the treetops, the wind shook the branches, a strong lightning split the trunk like a sword, and earth-shattering thunder sounded overhead! The banyan tree caught fire, burned a section of the trunk and killed the snake essence. Then, a downpour put out the fire ... This story was told by the oldest person in the village, who had a long beard like a banyan tree. We believe that he is as old as the banyan tree, so we also believe what he said.
I don't know which day, we also saw some women go to this banyan tree to burn a pile of paper money and light a few incense. What kind of wishes do they have to pray for this banyan god? I only remember that some children have tinea on their faces, and my mother will bring it over, cut a few knives on the trunk of the banyan tree and apply the oozing juice to the affected area. In a few days, it seems that tinea will get better gradually. My most unforgettable thing is that whenever the Chinese New Year is over, my grandmother will let me climb the tree along the "hunchback" and break some evergreen banyan branches and insert them around the cooked rice in the rice cooker to sacrifice to the ancestors' gods. At that time, the loving grandmother would climb to the stone bridge with a small "three-inch golden lotus" and watch me climb the tree while nagging me to be careful. Although I was a little nervous, I always pretended not to care and proudly waved the broken branches at her.
What makes people nostalgic is the long slate strips laid around the banyan tree head. In summer, it is the "throne" and "cool bed" for farmers. At noon, the strong subtropical sunshine made the house burn and the land smoked. Only these two tall banyan trees spread their giant umbrellas to resist the oppressive heat and sprinkle the shade on the ground, so that the tanned farmers can catch their breath on this hot stone road. In the evening, after a hard day's work, people lie on the slate washed by the stream, enjoying the breezy evening breeze, talking aimlessly about The Three Kingdoms and The Water Margin, and talking about the growth and harvest of crops from anecdotes near and far ... When they are happy, some people play the Hu Qin and sing a few short songs full of Yuan Ye flavor with their rough throats, looking for some short-term comfort and satisfaction in the bitter days.
Banyan tree, what kind of magic is used to summon the whole village to kneel? It's not beautiful words, it's not an attractive smile, it's just quietly spreading gentle wings to shelter them from the wind and rain, give them shade in the heat, and protect hardworking and simple people with infinite love.
I deeply miss that pleasant summer night under the banyan tree. Someone rolled up the sheets and slept on the smooth slate; Someone moved a few bed boards, one was a bench, the other was a bridge railing, and laid a straw mat to lie down. I like to sleep there with adults, look up at the shadow of the black banyan tree on my head, and communicate with the smiling stars in the sky with my heart in a mysterious and quiet atmosphere. If there is a moonlit night with moonlight like water, Shan Ye will be covered with a transparent veil, which will make everything unreal, like a dream, like a fairyland. In sleepiness, Chang 'e flew quietly with a piece of white clouds, and the fragrance of osmanthus was gently sprinkled from the branches of banyan trees. The running water under the bridge quietly sings a sweet lullaby, which makes people fall asleep slowly in the warm touch of the night wind ... Sometimes when they wake up in the morning, the dew moistens their hair and feels chilly, only to find that the pillow is gone. When the probe looked under the bridge, it actually fell into the stream, filled with water, swelled up and ran aground on the rocky beach. ...
Those days are gone forever. I seem to have just woken up from a dream, and I still have the coolness of banyan leaves; But I do know that I have slept for thirty years, and people are far away from home, Wan Li and Wan Li! How much wind and frost has the old banyan tree in Qiaotou, my hometown experienced? I heard that the "hunchback" tree struggled to fall in the fierce typhoon attack, fell in the mountain torrents and mudslides, and landed on the dear land in my hometown, completing the course of my life. Fortunately, another tree is safe and sound, and still protects the villagers with its dense green leaves. All the friends who rowed the humpback trunk as a boat have grown up. Some people, like me, row the boat of life to a distant foreign land, but still miss the banyan tree in their hometown? Some are still sitting on the slate at the head of the tree, telling stories that have not been told for generations. But the old storyteller with a beard as long as a banyan tree has passed away; My grandmother, who often called me to climb banyan branches and leaves during the Chinese New Year, has also passed away for a long time. Only the little stone lion on the railing of the bridge is still listening to the stream flowing under the bridge, right?
"Dad, dad, make me some more whistles." I don't know when my younger son picked a handful of banyan leaves and handed them to me, so I rolled them up and blew them for him. Whistle high and low, far and near, filled with deep homesickness, lingering around me. Dear banyan tree in my hometown, I grew up in the embrace of your shade. If you are conscious, will you know that I miss you in a distant foreign land? If you have thoughts, will you miss me as a wandering wanderer as a loving mother?
The banyan tree in my hometown ...