'And so with great care he planted his hundred acorns' While hiking through the wild
lavender in a wind-swept desolate valley in Provence a man comes across a solitary shepherd
called Elzéard Bouffier. Staying with him he watches Elzéard sorting and then planting
hundreds of acorns as he walks through the wilderness. Ten years later after surviving the
First World War he visits the shepherd again. A young forest is slowly spreading over the
valley - Elzéard has continued his work. Year after year the narrator returns to see the
miracle being created: a verdant green landscape that is testament to one man's creative
instinct. miracle he is gradually creating: a verdant green landscape that is a testament to
one man's creative instinct. 'I love the humanity of this story and how one man's efforts can
change the future for so many' Michael Morpurgo Independent VINTAGE EARTH is a series of
books that reveals our ever-changing relationship with the environment. These are stories old
and young set in worlds real or imagined that allow us to explore our connection to the
natural world. Transformative wild surprising and essential these novels take on the most
urgent story of our times.
