Baseball and The Generous Tree
By fuzzmartin
An adaptation of Shel Silverstein's "The Giving Tree:"
There once was a young boy named Bud who lived near a generous tree. When Bud's friends wanted to play, the tree made a great jungle gym... when the summer days were hot, the tree gave Bud and his friends shade... when the kids were hungry, the tree's apples kept them nourished. Bud loved the tree and the tree felt much love for the boy as well.
As Bud grew his uses for the tree changed. When his siblings wanted new baseball bats, the tree offered its branches. When he needed money, the tree suggested he sell its apples to his friends. When Bud needed more money, the tree recommended that Bud raise the price of apples to $5.75 a piece. Bud loved that old tree, and the tree loved him.
Days came when Bud's friends stopped coming around, Bud asked the tree for help. The tree first suggested placing cork in his sibling's bats for more excitement. That worked for a bit, but Bud's friends had A.D.D., and it was hard to keep their attention. The tree loved Bud, and told him to build a new stadium out of its trunk. Bud's friends thought it was really cool, but there were other, more exciting things to do, plus the cost of apples was now so high that his friends couldn't afford to bring their children and business associates by anymore.
Bud was saddened, so he went back to ask the tree for help... but when he returned he realized there was nothing left but a stump. His friends were gone and he had exploited the tree until it was no longer a tree, but a rotten old remnant of the fun they used to have. If only Bud had taken seeds from the tree and planted a forest. If only he had kept the price of apples low so that his friends could show their children how fun Bud was. But it didn't happen, and eventually Bud and his siblings were forgotten.
Poor Bud, had he looked to the future, his friends would still be around having fun, and that generous tree would be standing taller than ever. The End.
