The Juniper Tree

THE JUNIPER TREE

In the Grimm brothers’ story The Juniper Tree,
a boy was murdered by his wicked stepmother.
She baked him into a pie and fed it to the boy’s
unsuspecting father. The sympathetic stepsister
secretly gathered the boy’s bones, which had
been tossed beneath the dining table, and laid
them in the grass, over his mother’s grave,
under the juniper tree. The branches of the tree
waved and clapped with joy. Then, suddenly,
the juniper tree burst into flame. The bones
disappeared and from the heart of the fire
flew a beautiful bird, singing. The boy had been
transformed and restored to life through reunion
with his mother, the spirit which dwelt in
the juniper tree.

Page 146 Sign of the Tree
Meinrad Craighead
1970s; Stanbrook Abbey; Ink on Scratchboard; 10×12; Mat is signed.

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