Story: The boy and the apple tree

1. The Story

A long time ago, there was a huge apple tree. A little boy liked to come and play around this apple tree every day. He would climb to the top of the tree, eat the apples and take a nap in the shade. He loved the tree and the tree loved to play with him. Time passed, the little boy grew up, and he no longer played around the tree every day.

One day the boy came back to the tree, and he looked sad. "Come play with me," the tree asked the boy.

"I'm not a kid anymore, I don't play around trees," the boy replied.

"I want toys, and I need money to buy them."

"Sorry, but I don't have any money, but you can pick all my apples and sell them. That way you'll have money."

The boy was so excited. He grabbed all the apples from the tree and left happily. The boy never came back after picking the apples and the tree was sad.

One day, the boy who had become a man returned, and the tree was excited.

"Come play with me," said the tree.

"I don't have time to play. I have to work for my family. We need a house for shelter. Can you help me?"

"Sorry, but I don't have a house. But you can cut my branches to build your house." So the man cut off all the branches of the tree and went away happy. The tree was happy to see him happy, but the man never came back since. The tree was again alone and sad.

One hot summer day, the man returned, and the tree was delighted. “Come and play with me!” the tree said.

"I'm getting old. I want to go sailing to relax. Can you give me a boat?" said the man.

"Use my trunk to build your boat. You can sail far and be happy."

So the man cut the tree trunk to make a boat. He went sailing and did not return for a long time.

Finally, the man returned after many years. "Sorry, boy, but I have nothing left for you. No more apples for you," said the tree. "No problem, I have no teeth to bite," replied the man.

"No more trunks for you to climb on." "I'm too old for that now," said the man.

"I really can't give you anything, the only thing I have left are my dying roots," said the tree in tears.

"I don't need much now, just a place to rest. I'm tired after all these years," the man replied.

"Good! The roots of old trees are the best place to lean and rest, come and sit with me and rest." The man sat down, and the tree was happy and smiled with tears.

2. Moral of the story

Lesson:
This is a story of everyone. The tree is like our parents. When we were young, we loved to play with our Mum and Dad. When we grow up, we leave them; only come to them when we need something or when we are in trouble. No matter what, parents will always be there and give everything they could just to make you happy. You may think the boy is cruel to the tree, but that is how all of us treat our parents. We take them for granted; we don’t appreciate all they do for us, until it’s too late.

3. Ethical value of the story

The importance of being grateful:

• Gratitude helps us build better relationships.
• Gratitude can lead to positive actions.
• Positive emotions open us up to more possibilities.
• Positive emotions balance out negative emotions.
• One positive emotion often leads to another.

4. Quote of the week

We never know the love of a parent until we become parents ourselves. – Henry Ward Beecher

Question

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Until next edition, take care.