The final page of a classic children’s tale came unexpectedly to life in Oakland, California recently.
A tree on a city sidewalk was chopped down, leaving a stump with a chair-like backrest jutting out, upon which someone has written a portion of “The Giving Tree” by Shel Silverstein:
”The Giving Tree” is the story of a tree that gives literally everything to a boy as he grows up and old, until nothing is left but a stump.
The lines quoted on the stump in Oakland read:
“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.
The story has one final line: “And the tree was happy.”
It’s not clear if that was left off for space reasons... or to show, perhaps, that this tree hacked on the side of a road isn’t happy with its fate.
In any case, the tree is quickly becoming a local landmark as well as a sensation on social media. One thread on reddit has more than 2,000 comments.
It’s not clear who left the writing on the stump. The New York Times asked the city’s public works department if the tree was intentionally cut into a chair, but the agency was unable to find out.
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