Outstanding Stories » The Talking Tree

“The Talking Tree” is one of the outstanding stories (sub-junior) of the second biannual International Short Story Contest 2018 written by Aryavrat Agrawal, La Martiniere For Boys, Kolkata, India.

The Talking Tree

Once, there was a talking tree and a boy. The boy would always think to cut the tree down but the tree would say, “Please don’t kill me I am a very useful thing.” So the boy did not kill the tree. The tree had apples on it. The boy, one day, climbed on the tree and took one apple. Then, he found it really delicious and he started coming everyday and took one apple. Soon, the boy and the tree became friends. The boy would play with the tree and have fun with it. Then, suddenly the boy stopped coming and the tree became very sad.

After, many days passed by, one day the boy came and took an axe to chop the tree down. As, the tree could read minds, it asked the boy why was he chopping the tree down, the boy said ‘because I want a house to live in.’ So, the tree gave the boy its wood. The boy made his house and he lived in the house for 9 whole years. One day, a big storm came and blew the house away. Then, the boy came to the tree when he was 99 years old feeling sad. Then, the tree said what will you do with me? Chop me down again or eat my apples? Now, the old man said that he will not harm the tree any further. Rather he would plant another tree with its seed because he wanted to give the tree a new life again. The old man said, “I will sit on the small part left on you and we will talk together while getting older.” The tree became very happy and thanked the old man for giving him life again. When the tree started to grow, everything was all right but, after a few months the man died. Now the tree was sad. When it will grow, the old man would be no more but happy for the fact that it would be of use to others. The tree appreciated the man to do a fruitful thing for others before leaving this world. Moral – Good deeds are always appreciated by everyone even when we are not around.