Parable of the Fruit

There was a tree, plain and unbecoming that bore the finest yellow fruit.  When the tree was first found in a dark corner of a remote forest, those who tasted it could hardly believe such a wonder had passed so long unknown to the larger world.  Seeds were brought back to the city and the tree could soon be found in all manner of places.  Some who tasted it were glad to have tasted such a wonder.  Others refused because in shape and form it was unlike anything they had eaten.  Some found it too sweet and didn’t think it right to take anything so different from their blander daily fare.  Some who passed by the tree were disgusted by its ungainly appearance and despised the fruit.  “How could anything good come from such a tree?” they asked.  Others said, “God would not place a good fruit on a bad tree.”  There were some food enthusiasts who praised the fruit highly, grew their own trees and enjoyed eating it in the presence of others because they had heard how fine it was, but could hardly stand the smell of it and wouldn’t touch it when eating alone.  Stranger still, there were scientists who made the plant and its fruit the object of exacting study and have never eaten the fruit.  Indeed, most people never touched it and found it little more than an ugly curiosity.  There are a few however, who treasure the fruit and the pleasure of its taste, though most people still prefer potatoes.