But eventually the trail through the Low Country brought them to the vast Swamp of Selfishness. The swamp had been formed after the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil—a tree even more majestic than the Tree of Oneness—had been uprooted in the Great Garden. When it had crashed to the ground, the whole world had been shaken, creating havoc and destruction throughout the King’s country. The fallen branches had dammed many streams. With the flow of water blocked, the lowlands soon became a swamp. Treacherous quagmires were created, filled with all kinds of evil: envy, pride, greed, self-indulgence, ingratitude, slander, jealousy, and fits of rage. Peter and Celeste considered finding a path around the swamp, but it reached as far as they could see. The only other way was to head west, where the Mountains of Maturity towered over the swamp, looking even steeper and more forbidding. Peter sighed. “I wish we had gone up the first mountain we came to. It looked like such a difficult climb.
