The Giving Tree

By Shel Silverstien 

HarperCollins Publishers, 1964 (renewed in 1992)

Once upon a time, there was a boy and a tree. The boy would come to the tree every day to play together. But as the boy grew older, he started seeing the tree less often. Then whenever the boy came, he would ask for something from the tree. He started with the apples, then the branches, then finally the trunk.

The boy was away for a long time, then he came back. The tree said it didn't have anything left of itself to give. The boy then said he just wanted a place to sit. So he sat on the stump.

The tree was happy