A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings
By Gabriel Garcia Marquez
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THE GIVING TREE
Once, there was a tree…
And she loved a little boy.
And every day the boy would come
And he would gather her leaves
And make them into crowns and play king of
the forest.
He would climb up her trunk
And swing from her branches
And eat apples
And they would play hide-and-go-seek.
And when he was tired, he would sleep in her
shade.
And the boy loved the tree… very much…
And the tree was happy.
But time went by,
And the boy grew older.
And the tree was often alone.
Then, one day, the boy came to the tree and
the tree said:
–”Come, Boy, come and climb up my trunk and
swing from my branches and eat apples and
play in my shade and be happy!”
–”I am too big to climb and play” said the
boy. “I want to buy thing and have fun. I
want some money.
Can you give me some money?”
–”I’m sorry”, said the tree,”but I have no
money. I have only leaves and apples. Take
my apples, Boy, and sell them in city. Then
you will have money and you’ll be happy.”
And so the boy climbed up the tree and
gathered her apples and carried them away.
And the tree was happy…
But the boy stayed away for a long time…
and the tree was sad.
And then one day the boy came back, and the
tree shook with joy, and she said:
–”Come, Boy come and climb up my trunk and
swing from my branches and eat apples and
play in my shade and be happy.”
–”I am too busy to climb trees,” said the
boy. “I want a house to keep me warm”, he
said. “I and want a wife and I want
children, and so I need a house. Can you
give me a house?”
–”I have no house”, said the tree. “The
forest is my house”, said the tree. “But you
may cut off my branches and build a house.
Then you will be happy”.
And so the boy cut off her branches and
carried them away to build his house. And
the tree was happy.
But the boy stayed away for a long time…
And when he came back, the tree was so happy
she could hardly speak.
–”Come, Boy” she whispered, “Come and play”.
–”I am too old and sad to play”, said the
boy. “I want a boat that will take me away
from here. Can you give me a boat?”
–”Cut down my trunk and make a boat”, said
the tree. “Then you can sail away… and be
happy”.
And so the boy cut down her trunk
And made a boat and sailed away.
And the tree was happy…
But not really.
And after a long time the boy came back
again.
–”I am sorry, Boy”, said the tree, “but I
have nothing left to give you – My apples
are gone”.
–”My teeth are too weak for apples”, said
the boy.
–”My branches are gone”, said the tree. “You
cannot swing on them”.
–”I am too old to swing on branches”, said
the boy.
–”My trunk is gone”, said the tree. “You
cannot climb”.
–”I am too tired to climb”, said the boy.
–”I am sorry” sighed the tree. “I wish that
I could give you something… but I have
nothing left. I am just an old stump. I am
sorry…”
–”I don’t need very much now”, said the boy.
“Just a quiet place to sit and rest. I am
very tired”.
–”Well”, said the tree, straightening
herself up as much as she could, “well, an
old stump is good for sitting and resting.
Come, Boy, sit down… sit down and rest”.
And the boy did.
And the tree was happy…
The end.
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No Good Deed Goes
Unpunished
(So Shines a Good Deed in a Naughty
World)
-
by Franklin P. Adams
There was a man in our town who had
King Midas’ touch;
He gave away his millions to the
colleges and such;
And people cried: “The hypocrite! He
ought to understand
The ones who really need him are the
children of this land!”
When Andrew Croesus built a home
for children who were sick,
The people said they rather thought he did it as a trick,
And writers said: “He thinks about the drooping girls and boys,
But what about conditions with the men whom he employs?”
The people said they rather thought he did it as a trick,
And writers said: “He thinks about the drooping girls and boys,
But what about conditions with the men whom he employs?”
There was a man in our town
who said that he would share
His profits with his laborers, for that was only fair,
And people said: “Oh, isn’t he the shrewd and foxy gent?
It cost him next to nothing for that free advertisement!”
His profits with his laborers, for that was only fair,
And people said: “Oh, isn’t he the shrewd and foxy gent?
It cost him next to nothing for that free advertisement!”
There was a man in our
town who had the perfect
plan
To do away with poverty and other ills of man,
But he feared the public jeering, and the folks who would defame him,
So he never told the plan he had, and I can hardly blame him.
To do away with poverty and other ills of man,
But he feared the public jeering, and the folks who would defame him,
So he never told the plan he had, and I can hardly blame him.