''the giving tree''

The story is a short moral tale about a relationship between a young boy and a tree in a forest. The tree and the boy become best friends. The tree always provides the boy with what he needs: vines to swing from, shade to sit under, apples to snack on, branches to build a house. As the boy grows older and older he requires more and more of the tree. The tree loves the boy very much and gives him anything he asks for. In the ultimate act of self-sacrifice, the tree lets the boy cut him down so the boy can build a boat in which he can sail. The boy leaves the tree, now a stump. Many years later the boy, now an old man, returns and the tree says "I have nothing left to give you". The boy replies that all he needs is a quiet place to sit and rest as he awaits death. The tree happily obliges.