The Birch and the Oak: A Love That Stood Forever
In a small Belarusian village, near the edge of an enchanted forest, lived Marya, a young woman with hair as golden as wheat and a voice as sweet as a nightingale’s song. She loved Ivan, a humble woodcutter, who had a heart as strong as the oak trees he worked with.
From childhood, their love blossomed like the wildflowers in the meadows. But fate was unkind—Marya’s father, a wealthy merchant, forbade her from marrying a poor woodcutter. Instead, he arranged her marriage to a rich nobleman.
On the eve of her wedding, Marya fled into the forest, tears streaming down her face. She called out to the ancient forest spirits, begging them to keep her and Ivan together forever. The spirits heard her sorrow, and as Ivan arrived, running to find her, a soft wind swirled around them.
The next morning, the villagers searched for Marya and Ivan but found only two trees standing side by side—a slender, graceful birch and a mighty, strong oak. The trees swayed together in the wind, their branches intertwined as if whispering love songs to one another.
Even today, in Belarusian forests, when a birch and an oak grow close together, people say it is a sign of eternal love—the souls of Marya and Ivan, standing side by side, forever united