{"id":681,"date":"2021-10-03T15:25:40","date_gmt":"2021-10-03T09:55:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thetoad.in\/?p=681"},"modified":"2021-10-03T15:28:33","modified_gmt":"2021-10-03T09:58:33","slug":"adam-and-zaar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thetoad.in\/index.php\/2021\/10\/03\/adam-and-zaar\/","title":{"rendered":"Adam And Zaar"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-family: Amiri;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Back in the olden days, there was a plateau in China. The plateau was famous for its serene landscape and a calming effect. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Amiri;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">It was said that anyone who would make it to the plateau could find peace. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Amiri;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">The way to the plateau, however, passed through a dark, dense, mysterious forest, which no one could cross.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Amiri;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">People who had tried to reach the plateau had vanished in the forest.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_507\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-507\" style=\"width: 1081px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-507\" src=\"https:\/\/thetoad.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/1607148404194-300x224.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1081\" height=\"807\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thetoad.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/1607148404194-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thetoad.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/1607148404194-1024x763.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thetoad.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/1607148404194-768x573.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thetoad.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/1607148404194-480x358.jpg 480w, https:\/\/thetoad.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/1607148404194-671x500.jpg 671w, https:\/\/thetoad.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/1607148404194.jpg 1069w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1081px) 100vw, 1081px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-507\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><em><strong>Illustration: Neha Kumari<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Amiri;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">One day, Adam, a man from Turkey, travelled to China. After entering the forest, there was no sign of him for days. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Amiri;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">When people thought he had vanished like his predecessors, he came back.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201c<span style=\"font-family: Amiri;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">I reached the plateau. It is exactly as described by people,\u201d he told the first man he met. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201c<span style=\"font-family: Amiri;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Why did you return then and how did you find the way through the forest?\u201d asked the man, shocked on seeing Adam back. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201c<span style=\"font-family: Amiri;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">I returned so that I could guide the travellers to the plateau using this,\u201d Adam replied, showing his blunt axe. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Amiri;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Without asking more questions, the man left to tell everyone about Adam\u2019s adventure. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Amiri;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Adam made a hut at the entrance to the forest and lived there. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Amiri;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Thus, the legend of Adam spread far and wide. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Amiri;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">People came looking for Adam. He would blunt the weapons carried by each traveller and guide them to the plateau. Whoever took his counsel was able to return safely. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Amiri;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Many years later, a tribe of warriors in Africa came to know about the plateau. The tribe sent its mightiest warrior, Zaar, to find the plateau for them to inhabit. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Amiri;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Adam had grown grey and frail. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Amiri;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Zaar was walking towards the forest, holding his sharp sword made of the strongest metal found in Africa. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201c<span style=\"font-family: Amiri;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Stop,\u201d said Adam. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201c<span style=\"font-family: Amiri;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Let me guide you.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Amiri;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Zaar looked down upon Adam.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201c<span style=\"font-family: Amiri;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">A frail, old man will help me! I do not need your help. I will find my way.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Amiri;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Zaar\u2019s horse galloped into the forest, leaving behind a cloud of dust. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Amiri;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Adam sat quietly for three days. There was no sign of Zaar. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Amiri;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Adam took his blunt axe and went to look for Zaar. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Amiri;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Deep in the forest, Adam found his sword on the ground. The forest had turned Zaar into a tree, which recognised Adam. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201c<span style=\"font-family: Amiri;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">I was a mighty warrior with a sharp sword. You are an ordinary man with a blunt axe. How could you find your way but I couldn\u2019t?\u201d Zaar asked Adam. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201c<span style=\"font-family: Amiri;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">My blunt axe was a sign that I wanted peace. The forest only lets through those looking for peace. Had you listened to me, you would have succeeded. But you disrespected the man who had conquered the path you needed to take. Now, you are lost forever. No one will know of you,\u201d said Adam. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Amiri;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Adam quietly returned to his hut to continue with his job. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Back in the olden days, there was a plateau in China. The plateau was famous for its serene landscape and a calming effect. It was said that anyone who would make it to the plateau could find peace. The way to the plateau, however, passed through a dark, dense, mysterious forest, which no one could&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":507,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[198,16,201,9,197,200,12,11,8,199],"class_list":["post-681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-adam","tag-amusing","tag-axe","tag-children-stories","tag-forest","tag-guide","tag-inspiring-tales","tag-kashmir","tag-kids-stories","tag-peace","enable-dropcap"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetoad.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetoad.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetoad.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetoad.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetoad.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=681"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thetoad.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetoad.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetoad.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetoad.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetoad.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}