A long time ago, there was a huge apple tree. A little boy loved to come and lay around it everyday. He climbed to the tree top, ate the apples, took a nap under the shadow... He loved the tree and the tree loved to play with him. Time went by.the little boy had grown up and he no longer played around the tree everyday.
One day, the boy came back to the tree and he looked sad. "Come and play with me," the tree asked the boy.
"I am no longer a kid, I don’t play around trees anymore." The boy replied,"I want toys. I need money to buy them." "Sorry, but I don’t have money...but you can pick all my apples and sell them. So, you will have money." The boy was so excited. He grabbed all the apples on the tree and left happily. The boy never came back after he picked the apples. The tree was sad.
One day, the boy returned and the tree was so excited. "Come and play with me" the tree said. "I don’t have time to play. I have to work for my family. We need a house for shelter. Can you help me?" "Sorry, but I don’t have a house. But you can chop off my branches to build your house." So the boy cut all the branches off the tree and left happily.
The tree was glad to see him happy but the boy never came back since then. The tree was again lonely and sad.
I am sad and getting old. I want to go sailing to relax myself. Can you give me a boat?" "Use my trunk to build your boat. You can sail far away and be happy." So the boy cut the tree trunk to make a boat. He went sailing and never showed up for a long time.
Finally, the boy returned after he left for so many years. "Sorry, my boy But I don’t have anything for you anymore. No more apples for you..." the tree said."I don’t have teeth to bite" the boy replied. "No more trunk for you to climb on" "I am too old for that now" the boy said. "I really can’t give you anything ... the only thing left is my dying roots" the tree said with tears. "I don’t need much now, just a place to rest. I am tired after all these years." The boy replied. "Good! Old tree roots is the best place to lean on and rest. Come, Come sit down with me and rest." The boy sat down and the tree was glad and smiled with tears...
参考译文
从前，有一棵高大的苹果树。一个小男孩喜欢每天都到这棵树旁来玩耍。他会爬到树顶摘苹果吃，会在树荫下小憩……他很喜欢这棵树，树也很高兴和他一起玩耍。时光流逝，小男孩渐渐长大了，他不再像以前那样在树旁玩耍了。
一天，男孩来到树旁，表情忧郁。树对男孩说：“来和我一起玩吧！”
“我不再是孩子了，不会再到这儿玩了。”男孩答道，“我想玩玩具，可要用钱去买。”“对不起，可是我没有钱……但你可以从我这儿摘些苹果去卖掉，那样你就有钱了呀！”男孩兴奋极了。他把树上的所有苹果都摘了下来，然后兴高采烈地走了。之后男孩没有回来，树很伤心。
一天，男孩又回来了，树很兴奋，它说：“来和我一起玩吧！” “我没有时间玩。为了维持一家人的生活我必须工作。我需要一栋房子，为我们遮蔽风霜雨雪，你能帮我这个忙吗？”“对不起，我没有房子给你，但是你可以砍掉我的枝干自己建造房子啊！”于是，男孩砍掉了所有树枝，心满意足地离开了。
树因男孩高兴而高兴。但是，自此男孩又再没出现，树便再次孤独伤心起来。一个夏日，男孩又突然出现在树旁，树非常高兴地说：“跟我一起玩吧！”
“我好悲伤，我看到自己在逐渐地衰老。我想去航海，以缓解自己的忧虑。您能送我一艘小船吗？”“用我的树干去造船吧，那样你就能航海去了，你会感到高兴的。”于是，男孩把树干砍去造船，航海去了。很长时间没再露面。
多年以后，男孩终于又回来了。树说：“对不起，我的孩子，我没有任何东西可以再给你了。没有苹果给你……” 男孩答道：“我没有牙了，不能再吃苹果。”“我没有树干可以让你爬上爬下地玩了。”“我太老了，已经爬不动了。”男孩答道。“我真心想给你我的一切……然而我剩下的唯一一样东西就是行将死去的树墩。”树满眼泪水地说。“现在，我什么也不需要，我只想有个地方能让我好好休息休息。奔波了这么多年，我真的是太累了。”男孩答道。“那好啊！我这老树墩是你倚着休息的最好地方了。来吧，和我一起坐下休息好了。”男孩坐了下来，树高兴得热泪夺眶而出……
