In the South, far in the South, on the banks of the Rio Grande, stood an enormous and beautiful fig tree. Majestic and imposing, with its strong roots and long branches, it seemed to embrace and protect anyone who approached it. No one could say for certain how many summers it had shared its beauty and grace among mortals. Some experts estimated that its sturdy trunk held at least a millennium of history. Christopher Columbus had not yet been born in Genoa, and it was already