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A long time ago, when the world was still young and the gods and goddesses roamed amongst mortal men and women, one of the more renowned gods was King Sun.
King Sun was well known not only because he was a very powerful ruler but also because of his beautiful daughter, Sunshine. Many mortals from all over the world would come and pay tribute to the king, just so they could bask in the light of beauty emanated by Sunshine. All of them wanted to ask for his daughter’s hand in marriage and yet the king was very fastidious. He wanted his daughter to marry the son of a fellow god or a mortal of noble blood. The king was never satisfied.
Like her father, Sunshine was just as picky. None of the young gods or noble mortals that came interested her, much to the consternation of her father.
One day, as Sunshine was walking around their kingdom, she saw a handsome and well-built lad. She gazed at him from afar and asked her servant to find out who the fellow was. The slave bowed her head and readily went to the young man. She told him that her master wanted to know who he was and that he was invited to be in her presence. He then strode over to the group of the princess and introduced himself as Fire.
The two became good friends and got to know each other better.
From then on, the princess would visit Fire’s neighborhood where they would then chat for hours and hours as they walked around. Soon, they fell in love.
The king eventually found out about the romance between his daughter and the ordinary mortal. He became angry and ordered his soldiers to separate the two. The princess was then ordered to stay within the palace. It was then that the king decided that Sunshine should be betrothed to the son of King Moon, who was his long time friend and ally.
Though Sunshine was imprisoned within the palace walls, her loyal servant was able to secretly arrange a rendezvous between her and her paramour. They met each other under the cover of darkness and planned on escaping the palace to later on wed each other without the knowledge of her father. Sunshine then bade farewell to Fire as he slipped away into the night.
Meanwhile, King Sun was very tired the after having overseen the farmers plant during the summer season. Dark clouds covered the sky which then made it dark for quite some time. Sunshine then took her chance to escape while it was still dark and then proceeded to go to Fire’s house. Unbeknownst to Sunshine, her father was following her having awoken from his deep slumber.
When Sunshine reached Fire’s house, her father emerged from the darkness and unleashed his fury. The world was engulfed in light and the searing heat of King Sun’s anger made that day, the hottest one for the rest of eternity. He cursed his daughter that she will never again walk on the soil that mortals tread on and would be confined to the sky where Fire would not be able to reach her.
The king then turned his anger towards Fire and banished him to the ground where he was standing on, never again to reach Sunshine.
As King Sun said this, Sunshine began to float into the air while trying to reach out with her hand towards Fire. Fire can do nothing as he watched her cry and bid farewell. He felt as if his feet were growing heavier and heavier like they were being planted on the ground. He then slowly became a tree which is now known as the Arbol de Fuego or the Fire Tree.
The Arbol de Fuego, or the Fire Tree as it is commonly known nowadays, has flowers that bloom like flames during the hottest months of summer. With its arms reaching out to the sky and its flowers all abloom, we are reminded of the love that Fire once had for Sunshine.
King Sun was well known not only because he was a very powerful ruler but also because of his beautiful daughter, Sunshine. Many mortals from all over the world would come and pay tribute to the king, just so they could bask in the light of beauty emanated by Sunshine. All of them wanted to ask for his daughter’s hand in marriage and yet the king was very fastidious. He wanted his daughter to marry the son of a fellow god or a mortal of noble blood. The king was never satisfied.
Like her father, Sunshine was just as picky. None of the young gods or noble mortals that came interested her, much to the consternation of her father.
One day, as Sunshine was walking around their kingdom, she saw a handsome and well-built lad. She gazed at him from afar and asked her servant to find out who the fellow was. The slave bowed her head and readily went to the young man. She told him that her master wanted to know who he was and that he was invited to be in her presence. He then strode over to the group of the princess and introduced himself as Fire.
The two became good friends and got to know each other better.
From then on, the princess would visit Fire’s neighborhood where they would then chat for hours and hours as they walked around. Soon, they fell in love.
The king eventually found out about the romance between his daughter and the ordinary mortal. He became angry and ordered his soldiers to separate the two. The princess was then ordered to stay within the palace. It was then that the king decided that Sunshine should be betrothed to the son of King Moon, who was his long time friend and ally.
Though Sunshine was imprisoned within the palace walls, her loyal servant was able to secretly arrange a rendezvous between her and her paramour. They met each other under the cover of darkness and planned on escaping the palace to later on wed each other without the knowledge of her father. Sunshine then bade farewell to Fire as he slipped away into the night.
Meanwhile, King Sun was very tired the after having overseen the farmers plant during the summer season. Dark clouds covered the sky which then made it dark for quite some time. Sunshine then took her chance to escape while it was still dark and then proceeded to go to Fire’s house. Unbeknownst to Sunshine, her father was following her having awoken from his deep slumber.
When Sunshine reached Fire’s house, her father emerged from the darkness and unleashed his fury. The world was engulfed in light and the searing heat of King Sun’s anger made that day, the hottest one for the rest of eternity. He cursed his daughter that she will never again walk on the soil that mortals tread on and would be confined to the sky where Fire would not be able to reach her.
The king then turned his anger towards Fire and banished him to the ground where he was standing on, never again to reach Sunshine.
As King Sun said this, Sunshine began to float into the air while trying to reach out with her hand towards Fire. Fire can do nothing as he watched her cry and bid farewell. He felt as if his feet were growing heavier and heavier like they were being planted on the ground. He then slowly became a tree which is now known as the Arbol de Fuego or the Fire Tree.
The Arbol de Fuego, or the Fire Tree as it is commonly known nowadays, has flowers that bloom like flames during the hottest months of summer. With its arms reaching out to the sky and its flowers all abloom, we are reminded of the love that Fire once had for Sunshine.