THE GIVING TREE BY SHEL SILVEERSTEIN

THE GIVING TREE BY SHEL SILVEERSTEIN

Once there was a tree....

and she loved a little boy.

And everyday 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 things and have fun.

I want 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

the city. Then you will have money and

you will 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, climb up my trunk

and swing from my branches and be happy.'

'I am too busy to climb trees,' said the boy.

'I want a house to keep me warm,' he said.

'I 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,

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 far 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 GIVING TREE BY SHEL SILVERSTEIN

SPOON FEEDING BY W.R.INGE

SPOON FEEDING BY W.R.INGE

Disclaiming against the tendency of modern living conditions to “spoon-feed” the individual, the Very Rev. W. R. Inge, London’s “Gloomy Dean” who is presently upon a lecture tour of the United States, comes to the conclusion, in the course of an article in The Living Age, that nature will make us pay for our easy mode of life, to day. Nature, he argues, will take away any faculty that is not used. 

He cites the savage “who never had any trouble with his teeth,” as against the individual of to day. The savage kept “healthy by the hard work in tearing tough meat without the help of knife and fork.” These implements, he contends, and the art of cookery are reducing man to a toothless animal and are perhaps responsible for such evils as appendicitis and cancer, from which savages hardly suffer at all...............

EQUIPMENT BY EDGAR ALBERT GUEST

EQUIPMENT BY EDGAR ALBERT GUEST

Figure it out for yourself, my lad,

You've all that the greatest of men have had,

Two arms, two hands, two legs, two eyes,

And a brain to use if you would be wise.

With this equipment they all began,

So start for the top and say 'I can.'

Look them over, the wise and great,

They take their food from a common plate

And similar knives and forks they use,

With similar laces they tie their shoes,

The world considers them brave and smart.

But you've all they had when they made their start.

You can triumph and come to skill,

You can be great if only you will,

You're well equipped for what fight you choose,

You have legs and arms and a brain to use,

And the man who has risen, great deeds to do

Began his life with no more than you.

You are the handicap you must face,

You are the one who must choose your place,

You must say where you want to go.

How much you will study the truth to know,

God has equipped you for life, But He

Lets you decide what you want to be.

Courage must come from the soul within,

The man must furnish the will to win,

So figure it out for yourself, my lad,

You were born with all that the great have had,

With your equipment they all began.

Get hold of yourself, and say: 'I can.'

HUMAN FAMILY BY DR. MAYA ANGELOU

HUMAN FAMILY (POEM BY DR. MAYA ANGELOU) 

I note the obvious differences 

in the human family. 

Some of us are serious, 

some thrive on comedy. 

Some declare their lives are lived 

as true profundity, 

and others claim they really live 

the real reality. 

The variety of our skin tones 

can confuse, bemuse, delight, 

brown and pink and beige and purple, 

tan and blue and white. 

I’ve sailed upon the seven seas 

and stopped in every land. 

I’ve seen the wonders of the world, 

not yet one common man. 

I know ten thousand women 

called Jane and Mary Jane, 

but I’ve not seen any two 

who really were the same. 

Mirror twins are different 

although their features jibe, 

and lovers think quite different thoughts 

while lying side by side. 

We love and lose in China, 

we weep on England’s moors, 

and laugh and moan in Guinea, 

and thrive on Spanish shores. 

We seek success in Finland, 

are born and die in Maine. 

In minor ways we differ, 

in major we’re the same. 

I note the obvious differences 

between each sort and type, 

but we are more alike, my friends 

than we are unalike. 

We are more alike, my friends, 

than we are unalike. 

We are more alike, my friends, 

than we are unalike.