Recently  I was asked an interesting question about the Rule of Fruit, which I had not been asked before.  For those who are unaware of some of the…lesser known…rules that govern the world, the Rule of Fruit is this:

“Stolen fruit is Faerie fruit. Fruit acquired through trickery is goblin fruit.”  

The question posed was: “What if someone else steals it, and you trick them into giving it to you? It’s still stolen and acquired through trickery?”

The answer is that it is goblin fruit. Its provenance is based on its manner of acquisition.  Thus it changes ownership depending on which Court gained it the most recently, and must be ceded accordingly. 

However, sometimes arguments arise when one party does not wish to give up their hard-won prize, and so, long ago, the Crossroads was called to adjudicate  and make a determination regarding ownership of disputed fruit.  The Crossroads created the Hallows Rule, which stated thus:  “Should a Court or one of its members reject the Rule of Fruit, the fruit becomes Hallows, and is relinquished to the Pumpkin King to do with as he so chooses.”

The Rule of Hallows has been altered somewhat since that time, and now states “Rejection or willful opposition to a Rule grants provenance to Hallows, and subject to the Pumpkin King’s will.”

These are the Rules of Fruit and Hallows, as decreed by the Crossroads, and so they must be honored.