The Boy and the Apple Tree

A long time ago, there was a huge apple tree.

A little boy loved to play around it everyday. He climbed to the treetop, ate the apples, and took a nap in the shade. He loved the tree and the tree loved to play with him.

Time went by, the little boy grew up and no longer played around the tree every day.

One day, the boy came back to the tree, looking sad. "Come and play with me", the tree said.

"I am no longer a kid," remarked the boy tersely. "I do not play around trees any more. I want toys. I need money to buy them."

The tree said, "Well, I do not have money, but you can pick my apples and sell them." The boy picked the tree clean of apples and left gleefully. He didn't come back.

After many years, when the boy had grown into a man, he returned to the tree. "Come and play with me," the tree said excitedly. "I do not have time to play," said the man. "I have to work for my family. We need a house for shelter. Can you help me?"

To which the tree replied, "Sorry, but I do not have any house. But you can chop off my branches to build your house." This the man did and left.

The tree was again lonely and sad.

One hot summer day, the man returned and the tree was delighted. "Come and play with me!" the tree said. "I am getting old," said the man. "I want to go sailing to relax myself. Can you give me a boat?" "Use my trunk to build your boat," said the tree. "You can sail far away and be happy."

So the man cut down the tree and made a boat. He went sailing and didn't show up for a great number of years.

Finally, the man returned. The tree, having been reduced to merely its roots, said, "Sorry, my boy. But I do not have anything for you anymore. No more apples?" "It's ok, I do not have any teeth to bite them with," the man interrupted. "No more branches or trunk for building houses and boats?" "I am too old for all that now," the man said. "I just need a place to rest. I am so tired"

The man sat down and nestled into the tree's comfortably old roots. The tree wept tears of joy.