The Man Who Planted Trees by Jean Giono

Just discovered an enchanting book  called The Man Who Planted Trees or L'homme qui plantait des arbres by Jean Giono in my local book shop, written in the ashes of the second world war. It is well worth a read or even a watch, as in 1987 Frédéric Back turned it into a wonderful animation. I'll link to both below:.

Click here for a .pdf version of the book

Click here to go to youtube and watch the animated version.

There is even a world touring puppet show; more details by clicking here.

T'ao Ch'ien (Tao Yuanming): Shady, shady the wood in front of the Hall

Shady, shady the wood in front of the Hall:
At midsummer full of calm shadows.
The south wind follows summer's train :
With its eddying puffs it blows open my coat.
I am free from ties and can live a life of retirement.
When I rise from sleep, I play with books and harp.
The lettuce in the garden still grows moist:
Of last year's grain there is always plenty left.
Self-support should maintain strict limits:
More than enough is not what I want.
I grind millet and make good wine :
When the wine is heated, I pour it out for myself.
My little children are playing at my side,
Learning to talk, they babble unformed sounds.
These things have made me happy again
And I forget my lost cap of office.
Distant, distant I gaze at the white clouds:
With a deep yearning I think of the Sages of Antiquity. 

T'ao Ch'ien (365–427)

As translated by Arthur Waley (1919) in One Hundred 

& Seventy Chinese Poems  London: Constable & Co