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The orchardist planted seedlings in a bare field. The other orchardists said, “You’re doing it wrong. You’re planting the wrong seedlings. You’re planting them in the wrong soil. And you’re watering them wrong, too!”
But the orchardist continued to care for the seedlings. He put on fertilizer, and watered them some more. The seedlings grew into trees. The other orchardists said, “You’re making it worse. The trees are growing funny. Look at how bent and twisted they are. They’ll never bear fruit!”
But the orchardist continued to care for the trees. He pruned the branches, and watered them some more. The trees began producing fruit. The other orchardists said, “You’re going to give our valley a bad name. Your fruit is misshapen. It doesn’t look or smell like the fruit from our orchards. You’ll ruin the fruit market!”
At harvest time, the orchardist took his fruit to the buyer. The buyer looked at the fruit, and then he tasted it. Then the buyer said, “This is the fruit I’ve been looking for! This is the shape I’ve searched for every year. This is the flavor I’ve wanted to taste.”
Then the buyer bought the orchardist’s entire harvest.