The tree and the little boy

There was a very young boy, who used to spend time playing by a tree. One day he got bored and he said to the tree, "I'm bored, I've played with these toys too many times!" The tree replied, "OK, you can climb up on me and play on my branches." The boy got really happy with this suggestion and he had a lot of fun playing and sitting high up, on the branches of the tree.

When he started school, he spent more time away from the tree, but one day he came back to it, and the tree was overjoyed to see its young companion, and it encouraged him to climb on, but he refused. "My clothes are going to get dirty if I climb up on you." So the tree thought for a while, and said, "OK, bring a rope and tie it to me, and you can use my branches as a swing." The boy liked that idea, so he did that too, and would come back every other day to sit for a while on that swing. Whenever he used to get hot, the tree told him to rest in its shade.


As he got older, and moved on to college, times became harder on him and he ran short of food, so he went back to the tree which he had stopped visiting for a long time. The tree recognised him immediately and welcomed him, but he was hungry and complained to the tree, "I don't have any food to eat, my stomach is cringing with hunger." So the tree said, "Pull down my branches and take off the fruit, and fill yourself up." The young guy didn't even hesitate, but jumped up and tore off one of the smaller branches and ate to his fill. Over the weeks, he tore off all the branches and ate all the fruit.

After the fruits had all gone, he went away and didn't come back to the tree. When he reached his middle ages, he came back to the tree and said to it, "I have been very successful in life. I have earned a lot of money, I have a huge house and I have found a great wife. Now I want to travel and see the world." The tree was now very old, but to help its long time companion, it didn't wait, and said, "Bring a saw, cut off my trunk and make a boat. Then you will see the wonders of the world." So again, without hesitation the man cut down the tree. The same tree which he had played on, ate its fruit, laid in its shade; he cut it down and made a boat. As soon as it was finished, he sailed away and wasn't seen by his people again.

One day, an old man, walked past the tree. It hadn't recovered from the time he had cut it down. He went up to the tree, but didn't say anything. He felt the tears coming down from his eyes. This time the tree spoke in a faint voice, "I'm sorry. I don't have a trunk for you to climb, nor fruit for you to eat, nor branches of shade for you to lie in. All I have now are my deep roots." The old man whispered, "That's fine. Tree roots are the best place to lie down, snuggle up and sleep after a long life."

The tree symbolizes our parents, and the boy symbolizes us.
What do you think the story is trying to tell us?