The Greedy Tree

The Greedy Tree woke up early and looked up and down the boulevard. He could see that it was going to be a good day. It was raining and the wind was blowing.

“Ha ha”, he said, rubbing his branches in glee. “Today I will collect the umbrellas from many children. And perhaps a kite or two. Ha ha. Ha ha!”

Sure enough, children awoke and brushed their teeth. Many people walked along the boulevard on their way to school and work. The winds blew and the umbrellas began to fly. “Come to me, I’m the Greedy Tree,” he said. Sure enough many an umbrella, a scarf and even a hat flew into the air and were carried by the wind to the branches of the greedy tree.

The other branches knew what he was up to. “What are you doing?” asked the Kindness Tree. You are making so many children sad. But the Greedy Tree didn’t care a bit.

“Why are you collecting all these things?” asked the Clever Tree. “You don’t need even a single umbrella. Trees love the rain. Why not return them?”

But the Greedy Tree remained greedy as can be. In the afternoon children came to play. One child kicked a ball and the wind blew it right into the tall branches of the Greedy Tree. “Yippee,” said the Greedy Tree. Send my each ball, I want them all!”

“But why?” asked the Fairness Tree. “You don’t play ball and you’ll never play ball.” Why do you need all these balls in your tree?”

The Greedy Tree didn’t care a bit.

During the evening, when the other trees went to sleep, the Greedy Tree was busy growing more and more leaves to hide all the umbrellas, scarves, kites and balls that he had captured during the day. The very next morning, you couldn’t notice a thing.

By the end of summer, the Greedy Tree had collected so many things that he could barely stand straight. But still he collected.

One day, the Mayor of the town went for a walk with his daughter. She was carrying a beautiful kite that he had just given her for her birthday. Suddenly the wind blew and the kite flew into the branches of the Greedy Tree.

The Greedy Tree was happy as could be. The Mayor was not. The very next day he sent workers to cut down the Greedy Tree. Children all through town were happy as can be to find all that had gone missing in its branches.

And the wood? It was sent to the “Children’s Toy Factory” where it was made into thousands of toys for children everywhere.