The Giving Tree story
Once upon a time, in a quiet village, there stood a big, beautiful apple tree. Its branches were wide and full of sweet red apples. A little boy loved the tree very much. Every day, he would run to the tree, climb its trunk, swing from its branches, eat the apples, and rest in its cool shade. The tree loved the boy too—it felt happy whenever the boy was around.
But time passed, and the boy grew older. He stopped coming to play.
One day, the boy came back to the tree, looking sad.
“Come and play with me!” the tree said with joy.
“I’m not a little kid anymore. I don’t play with trees now,” the boy said. “I want toys, but I need money to buy them.”
“I don’t have money,” said the tree, “but you can take my apples and sell them.”
The boy was happy. He picked all the apples and left. The tree was glad to help but missed him terribly. The boy didn’t return for a long time.
Years later, the boy—now a grown man—came back. The tree shook with happiness.
“Come and play with me!” the tree said.
“I’m too busy. I have a family now. We need a house to live in.”
The tree said, “You can cut off my branches and build your house.”
So the man cut all the branches and left. The tree felt happy to help again, but it was now just a tall stump. And the man didn’t come back for many years.
One hot summer, the man returned. The tree, now very old, was thrilled.
“Come and play with me!” the tree said.
“I’m too old to play. I want to build a boat and sail far away to relax.”
“You can use my trunk to make a boat,” said the tree gently.
So the man cut down the trunk and made his boat. He sailed away, leaving only the roots behind. The tree was now just a lonely stump.
Many years later, the man returned once more. He was now very old and tired.
“I’m sorry,” said the tree softly. “I have nothing left to give you. No apples, no branches, no trunk…”
“It’s okay,” the old man replied. “I don’t need much now. Just a quiet place to sit and rest. I’m very tired.”
The tree smiled with tears. “Good… my roots are the perfect place to rest. Come, sit with me.”
The old man sat down. The tree was happy again. Even with nothing left, it gave all it could.
🌳 Moral of the Story:
This tree is like our parents. When we are young, we love them and need them. But as we grow older, we often forget about them—only returning when we want something. Yet, just like the tree, parents always give everything they have to make us happy, even if it means they are left with nothing. Let’s love, respect, and care for them before it’s too late.
