The Flower of Olivia
Print this Page- Country: Honduras
The Spanish version of this story.
There once was a blind king who posted a reward throughout his kingdom: half the royal riches to anyone who could cure his blindness. Years passed, and no one claimed the reward. Gradually, the king began to give up hope that he would ever see the sun again.
Now, the king had three sons. He was very close to his youngest son. The boy would help his father dress each morning and escort him in his royal duties throughout the kingdom. Every day he would surprise his father with a new tune from his guitar, a special fruit from the garden, or a clever riddle he had heard in town.
One night, when the moon was at its fullest, the youngest boy had a dream. A nymph led him by the hand to a giant palm tree. "Walk for 21 days through the forest," the nymph whispered in his ear. "Find this palm tree and you will find your father's cure."
The next morning, the boy ran to his father's chambers and told him his dream. Then he pleaded, "Father, let me find the palm tree. I want you to see me before you die."
"No," replied the king. "I cannot bear the thought of losing you. I will send your oldest brother."
The next day, the oldest brother set out into the forest, packing enough food and money for his journey. After 21 days, he saw the giant palm tree. Underneath it stood an old woman holding a baby.
"Do you come with food for the baby?" she asked.
"No, I have only enough for myself," he lied, looking around for a pretty, young nymph with wings.
"Do you come with money for the baby?" she asked.
"No. Have you seen a nymph around here?" asked the oldest son.
The old woman shook her head. Frustrated, the oldest son headed to a nearby town. There, he gambled away all the money his father had given him.
When the oldest son didn't come back to the palace, the youngest son was worried. He begged the king to let him go to the forest and find him.
"No, I can't risk letting anything happen to you," said the king. "I will send your middle brother."
The next day, the middle brother set out. After journeying through the forest for 21 days, he met an old woman holding a baby, who asked for food and money. The middle brother flatly refused.
"Find your own food and money!" he yelled. Then, noticing the giant palm tree, he waited beside it for a few minutes. When no nymph arrived, he headed for the town.
A month passed and the middle son did not return to the palace.
"Maybe they're dead," cried the youngest son. "Or maybe they're in jail. Father, you must let me find them!"
Reluctantly, the blind king agreed.
The next day the youngest son set out and, in 21 days, he came to the site of the giant palm tree. There, he saw an old woman holding a baby. He recognized her as a nymph.
"Are you the one who knows of the cure for my father's blindness?" he asked.
"Do you carry food for the baby?" she asked.
"Yes. Here, take all the food," he answered.
"Do you have money?" she asked.
"Yes. Take all the money I have," he replied.
The nymph took him by the hand and led him around the tree. She lifted up a rock. A beautiful yellow flower with long, red-tipped petals was growing underneath it.
"This is the Flower of Olivia," she told him. "Pass this flower across the eyes of your blind father, and his sight will be restored."
The youngest son put the flower in his pocket and thanked her. Then he asked, "Have you seen my brothers? I cannot rest until I find them."
"They went to the town," she said. "Do not go looking for them. If you do, they will kill you." But the youngest brother was already running in the direction of town, too consumed with worry to heed the nymph's warning.
When he arrived in the town, he found his brothers drinking beer in the cantina. Because the youngest brother didn't drink beer, his brothers offered him a soda.
"We must celebrate your success, brother," said the oldest. "You have found a cure to our father's blindness."
"Half of the kingdom is your reward!" added the middle brother. The oldest brother then gave a signal to him. As the middle brother hugged his little brother tightly to his chest, the oldest dropped poison in his soda. Within seconds, the boy collapsed. The brothers took his body, strapped it to a horse, and left town.
"Our little brother is drunk," they said jokingly to the townspeople who passed. The two brothers brought the young boy's body to the forest. Once there, they took the Flower of Olivia out of his pocket and buried him underneath the giant palm tree.
The two older brothers then returned to the palace. Entering their father's chambers, they passed the Flower of Olivia over his eyes. His sight returned.
"Where is your brother?" the king asked.
"Oh, father! Our little brother was carried away by a pack of wolves! Although we tried to save him, we could not," cried the oldest. The two brothers pretended to weep.
The king was devastated. "My son was worth more to me than my sight," he said sadly. "It is my fault. I should never have allowed him to go into the forest." Turning to his two sons, he said, "Here, take my riches. Half the kingdom is your reward."
Meanwhile, a hunter was passing through the area where the palm tree grew and saw a shoot of bamboo growing. Since bamboo had never grown there before, the hunter was puzzled. He picked a piece of it and carved it into a flute. When he put it to his lips, a beautiful, melancholy song issued forth:
Oh, hunter, do not play me,
Nor stop me from playing,
My brothers killed me for the Flower of Olivia.
"With this flute," the hunter said to himself, "I will become a famous musician. I can give up hunting and travel all around the world!" He left the forest and went to the town to seek his fortune.
As the hunter was playing the flute in the town square one day, the king passed by in his carriage. Hearing the hunter's strange and sad music, he was filled with intense longing for his young son. The king ordered his carriage to stop.
"What beautiful music," the king said to the hunter. "It reminds me of someone very special to me. Please, you must come to the palace and play for me."
The next evening, the hunter played at the king's palace. The king, queen, and their two sons attended. All wiped tears from their eyes at the hunter's sad song.
"May I try to play your flute?" the king asked, as the hunter finished. "Please, your highness," urged the hunter, handing him the flute.
When the king put it to his lips and blew, the flute sang:
Oh, father, do not play me,
Nor stop me from playing,
They killed me for the Flower of Olivia.
The king then handed the flute to his wife, urging her to try it. The queen held it to her mouth, and the flute sang,
Oh, mother, do not play me...
The queen was mystified. She then gave it to her middle son to play. But the boy, who had suddenly become pale, refused. "This is nonsense," he said. But his mother persisted. The boy put the flute to his lips, and immediately it began:
Oh, brother, do not play me...
Frightened, the boy dropped the flute from his lips and would not continue. He then passed it to his older brother.
"You are all acting crazy," the oldest son said angrily. But the king, sensing that a mystery was unfolding before his eyes, ordered him, "Play the flute! Play it now!" Shaking, the oldest son put the flute to his lips:
Oh brother, do not play me,
Nor stop me from playing,
You killed me for the Flower of Olivia.
In agony, the king fell to the ground. "You killed your brother for the Flower of Olivia? For the reward?" he cried in disbelief.
The two brothers were taken away and left to hang in the town square as common murderers. The king spent his remaining days in a remote, windowless tower. There, in the darkness, he played the flute from morning until night.
^ Back to TopAbout the Author:
"The Flower of Olivia" is told by Katie Comer (Peace Corps Volunteer, Honduras, 1995–1997). "An old Garifuna man once offered to take me out on the Caribbean in his kayuko, a canoe made from a hollowed-out tree," says Katie. "We set out before the sun rose onto the dark blue, glasslike Caribbean water, lit only by the stars. The sun rose very slowly and turned the dome of the sky into green, red, orange, yellow, and, finally, a pure blue. The old man threw a wooden stick with a line over the side of the canoe to catch fish, while I bailed water out of the bottom of the boat. We took turns fishing, bailing, rowing, sailing, and telling stories in Spanish. It was then that he told me 'The Flower of Olivia.'"
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