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chapter one

The Tree in the Forest

Just outside a village, there was a beautiful forest. It was full of so many kinds of trees. On the edge of the forest, there was a pretty Fir tree. He was still a small tree. He lived in a very nice place. There was a lot of sunshine and fresh air. Around him, there were many other fir trees. Some were much bigger and others were the same size.
There were also many pine trees. They all looked so big. He wanted to be big too. His life was very good. But he did not know that. He did not care about the warm sunshine or fresh air.
Many children came to pick strawberries in the woods.
Sometimes, they sat under the little Fir tree. They often said, "Let's sit under that little Fir tree. It is so pretty."
But the Fir tree did not like this. He did not like being 'little.'
Every year, the Fir tree grew bigger. But he was still not happy. He looked at other trees around him.
He thought, "I want to be big like those trees. I want to have big branches with many leaves. I want to stand tall, and see many things in the sky. I want birds to build nests in my branches. I want to bend elegantly in the wind."
He was never happy.
Two more years went by and he grew and grew. He was now much bigger.
"I am getting bigger," he thought. "Grow! I must grow taller!"
Every autumn, the woodcutters came to cut down the largest trees. The Fir tree heard the sounds "Chop! Chop! Chop!"
Then, there was a "Crash!!" The trees tumbled down.
The Fir tree became very frightened. The Fir tree thought, "Why did the men cut down the trees? Where did they go? What will happen to them?"
He saw some swallows, and asked them.
"Yes, I think I saw them," they answered. "I flew to Egypt and I saw many ships. On the ships, there were gigantic masts. They had huge white sails and danced in the wind. They were very elegant. You should be proud."
This made the Fir tree happy. He thought, "I want to sail across the sea. I want to be a gigantic mast with dancing sails. I would be so happy."
The air and the sunshine heard the tree and said, "Don't wish for another life. Be happy now. You have warm sunlight. You have a healthy trunk."
But the tree did not understand them.
This year, the woodcutters came before Christmas. They did not cut down big trees. They cut down young trees. The Fir tree was very confused.
"Why are they cutting down such young trees?"
There were some sparrows sitting in his branches. So the Fir tree asked them, "Where are the trees going? Those are smaller than me. Why did the men cut them down?"
This time, the Sparrows said, "We know! We looked in through some windows in the village. The trees will go there. They will be so beautiful. They will wear so many colors and lights. They will be so happy. They will live in a warm room with many presents under them."
The Fir tree was very interested in this. The tree thought, "It sounds wonderful. It is better than sailing across the sea. I want to live in such a place. I suffer so much in this forest! Something better must be waiting for me."
Again, the sunlight and the air heard the tree. They said to him, "Do not be so foolish. Your life in the forest is the best. Be happy with that." But the tree ignored them.
Finally, the woodcutters came. They stood in front of him, and said, "This one will be perfect."
A few moments later, the tree felt a sharp pain. It was the axe. Whack! Whack! Whack! He fell to the ground. Crash!! It was not the happiness he dreamed of. He suddenly felt very sad.
He thought, "My home! I am separated from my home. I will never see it again. I will never feel the fresh air or the warm sunlight. I will never hear the birds sing again. I am so sad."

chapter two

A Very Sad Life
The Fir tree was put into a large room. He looked around the room curiously. Soon after, many servants and young girls came in. They started to decorate the tree. They hung many colored decorations on the tree. On the top, they put a large golden star.
The tree looked at his branches. He was dressed in many colors. He looked very beautiful.
"Now my life will be wonderful," thought the tree. "I will live my life in this warm room. The sunlight and the air were all wrong. Maybe the sparrows will come to see me. Maybe they will tell other trees about my grand life."
He was so happy now. He felt very good about his future.
A few moments later, the door to the room opened. Many children came in. They ran to the tree and stopped. Just after them, the adults walked in. Together, they all admired the beautiful tree. The tree felt so happy.
It was very noisy in that room that night. The children screamed joyfully and danced around the tree.
Later, all the people sang Christmas carols together. The tree enjoyed watching all of this. He thought, "This is all for me! I will enjoy this every night." He was very content.
The next morning, the tree wanted to see the children. But they did not come to see him. Instead, some servants came into the room.
He thought, "Yesterday, the servants decorated me. Today, they will decorate me again." But this did not happen.
The servants pulled the tree down. They took him out of the room. Then, they took him up many stairs and put him into a dark room. He was forgotten.
Many more lonely nights passed.
One night, there was a sound, "Squeak! Squeak!" They were little mice. The curious mice wanted to know about the tree. The tree told stories about the forest. They were amazed. They said, "Your life is interesting! You were very happy in the forest!" The tree replied, "Yes, I was happy there. But my life is not interesting anymore."
At night they went to hear his story. He told them many stories about Christmas Eve. This continued for a few more nights.
Finally, the tree had no more stories and had to tell the same stories over.
The mice thought, "Maybe the stories are not very interesting after all."
So, the mice did not go to the tree at night.
It became very lonely in that dark room.
"Why don't the mice come to visit me?" he thought.
"It was better when the mice came to listen to me. I must enjoy those happy times more. I will be careful next time. When I leave this room, I will really enjoy everything. But when will that be?"
One day, the door to that dark, lonely room opened. Many people came in.
"At last," thought the tree. "They come to give me a new life."
One man came and pushed the tree down onto the floor. Ouch!! The tree landed very heavily. Then two servants picked up the tree and took it outside.
Now the tree was lying in the sunlight. "This is wonderful. My new life is beginning. It is spring now. They will plant me and I will grow."
The tree really enjoyed the fresh air. He looked around at the garden. It was so beautiful. There were roses and carnations. He saw many birds flying in the garden. It was a wonderful day for the tree. The tree relaxed in the sunlight, and spread out his branches.
Just then, he discovered something terrible. He couldn't move his branches. He looked at them and was shocked. They were all yellow. His branches were weak. He was a very sad tree now.
Some children were running around the garden. They cried, "Look! It is the Christmas tree. It is so old and ugly. But look! It still has the yellow star on top of it."
One of the children took the star from the tree. The children didn't care about the old tree. There was nothing beautiful about the tree anymore.
"This is terrible," he thought. "I really am an old, ugly tree. I want to go back to my dark, lonely room. My life in the forest really was the best. I wasted my life. I always wished for something more interesting. I never enjoyed the simple things in my life. Now, it is over. There is nothing I can do."
Soon, the gardener came with an axe.
"This really is the end," groaned the tree. He chopped the poor Fir tree into many pieces. Then, he placed each piece into a fire. The poor tree burned in the flames.
As he burned, he could see the children playing. They were playing with his golden star.
But it was too late for regrets now.

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