There lived a wild apple tree in the forest... And the apple tree loved a little boy. And every day the boy ran to the apple tree, collected the leaves that fell from it, wove a wreath from them, put it on as a crown and played the forest king.

He climbed the trunk of the apple tree and swung on its branches. And then they played hide and seek, and when the boy got tired, he fell asleep in the shade of its branches. And the apple tree was happy... But time passed, and the boy grew up, and more and more often the apple tree whiled away its days alone.

One day a boy came to an apple tree. And the apple tree said:
- Come here, boy, swing on my branches, eat my apples, play with me, and we will have a good time!
“I’m too old to climb trees,” the boy answered. - I would like other entertainment. But this requires money, and can you give it to me?
“I would be glad,” the apple tree sighed, “but I have no money, only leaves and apples.” Take my apples, sell them in the city, then you will have money. And you will be happy! And the boy climbed the apple tree and picked all the apples and took them with him. And the apple tree was happy.

After that, the boy did not come for a long time, and the apple tree became sad again. And when one day the boy came, the apple tree trembled with joy.
- Come here quickly, baby! - she exclaimed.
- Swing on my branches, and we will be fine!
“I have too many worries to climb trees,” the boy answered, “I would like to have a family, have children.” But for this you need a house, and I don’t have a house. Can you give me a home?
“I would be glad,” the apple tree sighed, “but I don’t have a home.” My home is my forest. But I do have branches. Cut them down and build yourself a house. And you will be happy. And the boy cut down its branches and took them with him, and built himself a house.

And the apple tree was happy.

After that the boy did not come for a long, long time. And when he appeared, the apple tree almost went numb with joy.
“Come here, boy,” she whispered, “play with me.”
“I’m too old, I’m sad and have no time for games,” the boy answered. – I would like to build a boat and sail on it far, far away. But can you give me a boat?
“Cut down my trunk and make yourself a boat,” said the apple tree, “and you can sail far, far away on it.” And you will be happy.

And then the boy cut down the trunk, and made a boat out of it, and sailed far, far away. And the apple tree was happy. …Although it’s not easy to believe.

A lot of time has passed. And the boy came to the apple tree again.
“Sorry, boy,” the apple tree sighed. “But I can’t give you anything more.” I don't have apples...
- What are apples for? – the boy answered. “I have almost no teeth left.”
“I have no branches left,” said the apple tree. -You won't be able to sit on them.
“I’m too old to swing on branches,” the boy answered.
“I don’t have a trunk left,” said the apple tree. “And you have nothing else to climb up.”
“I’m too tired to climb up,” the boy answered.
“I’m sorry,” the apple tree sighed, “I would really like to give you at least something, but I have nothing left.” I'm just an old stump now. Sorry…
“But now I don’t need much,” the boy answered. Now I just want a quiet and peaceful place to sit and relax. I am very tired.
“Well,” said the apple tree, “an old stump is just right for this.” Come here, boy, sit down and relax.

Once upon a time there lived an Apple Tree and she fell in love with a little boy. Every day the boy came to her and collected her leaves and weaved them into a wreath to play the Forest King. He climbed her trunk, swung on her branches and ate her apples. They played hide and seek with Apple Tree. And, having played enough, he fell asleep in the shade of its branches. And the boy loved the Apple Tree very much.
And the Apple Tree was happy.
But time passed. And the boy grew up. And Apple Tree was often left alone now.
And then one day the boy came to the Apple tree, and she said:
- Come here, Boy, climb my trunk, swing on my branches, eat my apples, play in my shade and you will be happy!
“I’m already too old to climb trees and swing from branches,” answered the Boy.
– I want to buy things and have fun, I need money. Can you give me money?
“Sorry,” answered the Apple Tree, “but I don’t have money.” I only have leaves and apples. Take my apples, Boy, and sell them in the city. You will get money for them and be happy! The boy climbed up the trunk, collected all the apples and carried them away. And the Apple Tree was happy.
After that, the boy did not appear for a long time, and the Apple Tree was sad. But one day the boy returned, and the Apple Tree trembled with joy and said:
- Come here, Boy, climb up my trunk, swing on my branches and you will be happy.
“I’m too busy to climb trees,” answered the Boy. “I need a warm home,” he continued. I want to have a wife and children, and that's why I need a house. Can you give me a home?
“I don’t have a home,” answered the Apple Tree, my home is a forest. But you can cut my branches and build yourself a house. And you will become happy.
The boy cut the branches of the Apple Tree and took them away to build himself a house. And the Apple Tree was happy.
Then the boy disappeared again for a long, long time. And when he returned, the Apple Tree was so happy that she could hardly speak. “Come here, Boy,” she whispered, come play.
“I’m too old and sad to play,” answered the Boy. “I need a boat so I can sail far, far away.” Can you give me a boat?
“They cut down my trunk and build yourself a boat,” answered the Apple Tree. -Then you can sail far...
and be happy. And the boy cut down the trunk of the Apple Tree... and built himself a boat, and sailed far, far away. And the Apple Tree was happy... but not entirely.
Again a lot of time passed, and the Boy returned to the Apple Tree.
“Sorry, Boy,” she said, “but I have nothing more to give you.” I have no apples left.
“Apples are too much for me now,” answered the Boy.
“I don’t have any branches left,” said the Apple Tree; you won’t be able to swing on them.
“I’m too old to swing on the branches,” answered the Boy.
“I don’t have a trunk left,” said the Apple Tree, and you have nothing else to climb up.
“I’m too tired to climb up,” answered the Boy.
“I’m sorry,” the Apple Tree sighed, “I would really like to give you something... but I have nothing left.” I'm just an old stump now... I'm sorry...
“But now I don’t need much,” answered the Boy; now I would only like a quiet, peaceful place to sit and relax. I am very tired.
“Well,” said the Apple Tree, straightening up as much as possible, “the old stump is just right for sitting and resting.” Come here, Boy, sit down and rest.
So the Boy did. And the Apple Tree was happy.

There lived a wild apple tree in the forest. And the apple tree loved the little boy. And every day the boy ran to the apple tree, collected the leaves that fell from it, wove a wreath from them, put it on like a crown, and played the forest king. He climbed the trunk of the apple tree and swung on its branches. And then they played hide and seek and, when the boy was tired, he fell asleep in the shade of its branches. And the apple tree was happy.

But time passed, and the boy grew up, and more and more often the apple tree whiled away its days alone.

One day a boy came to an apple tree. And the apple tree said:

Come here, boy, swing on my branches, eat my apples, play with me, and we will have a good time!

“I’m too old to climb trees,” the boy answered. - I would like other entertainment. But this requires money, and can you give it to me?

“I would be glad,” the apple tree sighed, “but I have no money, only leaves and apples.” Take my apples and sell them in the city, then you will have money. And you will be happy!

And the boy climbed the apple tree and picked all the apples and took them with him. And the apple tree was happy.

After that, the boy did not come for a long time, and the apple tree became sad again. And when one day the boy came, the apple tree trembled with joy.

Come here quickly, baby! - she exclaimed. - Swing on my branches, and we will be fine!

“I have too many worries to climb trees,” the boy answered. - I would like to have a family, have children. But for this you need a house, and I don’t have a house. Can you give me a home?

“I would be glad,” the apple tree sighed, “but I don’t have a home.” My home is my forest. But I do have branches. Cut them down and build yourself a house. And you will be happy.

And the boy cut down its branches and took them with him, and built himself a house. And the apple tree was happy. After that the boy did not come for a long, long time. And when he appeared, the apple tree almost went numb with joy.

Come here, boy,” she whispered, “play with me.”

“I’m already too old, I’m sad and have no time for games,” the boy answered. - I would like to build a boat and sail on it far, far away. But can you give me a boat?

“Cut down my trunk and make yourself a boat,” said the apple tree, “and you can sail on it far, far away.” And you will be happy.

And then the boy cut down the trunk and made a boat out of it. And he sailed far, far away. And the apple tree was happy.
…Although it’s not easy to believe.

A lot of time has passed. And the boy came to the apple tree again.

Sorry, boy,” the apple tree sighed, “but I can’t give you anything else.” I don't have any apples.

What do I need apples for? - the boy answered. - I have almost no teeth left.

“I have no branches left,” said the apple tree. - You won't be able to sit on them.

“I’m too old to swing on branches,” the boy answered.

“I don’t have a trunk left,” said the apple tree. - And you have nothing else to climb up.

“I’m too tired to climb up,” the boy answered.

I’m sorry,” the apple tree sighed, “I would really like to give you at least something, but I have nothing left.” I'm just an old stump now. Sorry.

“And now I don’t need much,” the boy answered. - Now I just want a quiet and peaceful place to sit and relax. I am very tired.

“Well,” said the apple tree, “an old stump is just right for this.” Come here, boy, sit down and relax.

So the boy did. And the apple tree was happy.

Translation. V. Ramses
Moscow, "Children's Literature" 1983

* “The Giving Tree” is a picture book by American writer Shel Silverstein, published in 1964. The parable of love and self-sacrifice became one of Silverstein's most famous works, reprinted many times and translated into dozens of languages. There are two Russian translations of the book. The original edition of the book features black and white illustrations by the author and a color cover. A parable that has become a classic. It is included in school curricula in many countries around the world.
A 10-minute film was created based on the fairy tale (USA, 1973), the text is read by Silverstein himself, who also composed music for the cartoon and acted as a producer.

There lived a wild apple tree in the forest... And the apple tree loved a little boy. And every day the boy ran to the apple tree, collected the leaves that fell from it, wove a wreath from them, put it on as a crown and played the forest king. He climbed the trunk of the apple tree and swung on its branches. And then they played hide and seek, and when the boy got tired, he fell asleep in the shade of its branches. And the apple tree was happy... But time passed, and the boy grew up, and more and more often the apple tree whiled away its days alone.

One day a boy came to an apple tree. And the apple tree said:

- Come here, boy, swing on my branches, eat my apples, play with me, and we will be fine!

“I’m too old to climb trees,” the boy answered. - I would like other entertainment. But this requires money, and can you give it to me?

“I would be glad,” the apple tree sighed, “but I have no money, only leaves and apples.” Take my apples, sell them in the city, then you will have money. And you will be happy! And the boy climbed the apple tree and picked all the apples and took them with him. And the apple tree was happy.

After that, the boy did not come for a long time, and the apple tree became sad again. And when one day the boy came, the apple tree trembled with joy.

- Come here quickly, baby! - she exclaimed.

- Swing on my branches, and we will be fine!

“I have too many worries to climb trees,” the boy answered, “I would like to have a family, have children.” But for this you need a house, and I don’t have a house. Can you give me a home?

“I would be glad,” the apple tree sighed, “but I don’t have a home.” My home is my forest. But I do have branches. Cut them down and build yourself a house. And you will be happy. And the boy cut down its branches and took them with him, and built himself a house. And the apple tree was happy.

After that the boy did not come for a long, long time. And when he appeared, the apple tree almost went numb with joy.

“Come here, boy,” she whispered, “play with me.”

“I’m too old, I’m sad and have no time for games,” the boy answered. – I would like to build a boat and sail on it far, far away. But can you give me a boat?

“Cut down my trunk and make yourself a boat,” said the apple tree, “and you can sail far, far away on it.” And you will be happy. And then the boy cut down the trunk, and made a boat out of it, and sailed far, far away. And the apple tree was happy. …Although it’s not easy to believe.

A lot of time has passed. And the boy came to the apple tree again.

“Sorry, boy,” the apple tree sighed. “But I can’t give you anything more.” I don't have apples...

- What are apples for? – the boy answered. “I have almost no teeth left.”

“I have no branches left,” said the apple tree. -You won't be able to sit on them.

“I’m too old to swing on branches,” the boy answered.

“I don’t have a trunk left,” said the apple tree. “And you have nothing else to climb up.”

“I’m too tired to climb up,” the boy answered.

“I’m sorry,” the apple tree sighed, “I would really like to give you at least something, but I have nothing left.” I'm just an old stump now. Sorry…

“But now I don’t need much,” the boy answered. Now I just want a quiet and peaceful place to sit and relax. I am very tired.

“Well,” said the apple tree, “an old stump is just right for this.” Come here, boy, sit down and relax.

So the boy did. And the apple tree was happy.

Shale Silverstein

This bright parable about true love, which demands nothing in return, was first published in 1964, and has been traveling around the world for half a century. The book has been translated into more than 30 languages, and its total circulation over the years has exceeded eight million copies.

In his interview with the Chicago Tribune, published in 1964 immediately after the release of the first edition of The Giving Tree, Silverstein spoke about how difficult the path of this book to the reader was: “All the publishers, without exception, liked the manuscript, they read it and cried, and they said what a wonderful thing it was. But... one thought that the story was still a bit short. Another thought it had too sad an ending. The third was afraid that the book would not be sold well, because it was not quite for children, but it did not look like an adult either.”

Four years passed before Ursula Nordstrom, editor of the legendary publishing house Harper & Row (now Harper Collins), agreed to publish The Giving Tree. And she even allowed the author to keep the sad ending. “Yes, life, you know, ends very sadly,” she said. “I won’t force you to rewrite the ending just because all children’s books are supposed to be funny and have a happy ending.” According to Silverstein himself, traditional happy endings and magical solutions to problems, as is often the case in children's literature, alienate the child from reality and do not make him truly happy in adulthood.

A touching story about the friendship of a boy and an apple tree has spread all over the world. They make animated films based on it, stage plays, study it in schools, and quote it during sermons. The book has become an integral part of world culture, an impressive example of a work of art that combines simplicity of form and depth of content.

Press about the book

Magazine "Business Petersburg", 06/03/16, "Summer reading. 10 books for the garden, the sea and vacation", Anna Akhmedova

A book for all times and all ages. A kind parable about a boy and an apple tree, which loved him with true and unconditional love, not demanding anything in return. This is exactly one of those books that a child should definitely read and use it to talk about important and complex issues: about life, love, death. The book is used in plays and cartoons, studied in schools and read all over the world. The story was first published in 1964.