Once there was a tree…899Please respect copyright.PENANAcejIZ4Czxh
899Please respect copyright.PENANADsaNe1PdIk
899Please respect copyright.PENANAba6U7t3xtX
And she hated a little boy.899Please respect copyright.PENANASOTqo2p4VB
899Please respect copyright.PENANAMhItlVNIjP
899Please respect copyright.PENANAQl5q7Ax8PY
And every day the boy would come and he would rake her leaves and scoop them into piles and then dive into them and laugh.899Please respect copyright.PENANAVIsxFzXmGQ
899Please respect copyright.PENANAFW40X6FKwX
899Please respect copyright.PENANAwFOlsUz4LT
He would shimmy up the trunk and swing from her branches until they cracked. She wished he would fall and break his leg. 899Please respect copyright.PENANA12pZTZZOIZ
899Please respect copyright.PENANACjenOaek3J
899Please respect copyright.PENANAda4xX1zjjh
And eat her apples until his belly hurt. She hoped they made him sick. 899Please respect copyright.PENANA0Q7iAtroOx
899Please respect copyright.PENANAwVlzPSNGsf
899Please respect copyright.PENANAZTo7dHaGyE
And he and his brother would play hide-and-go-seek and hide behind her. She would glare at them and curse under her breath.899Please respect copyright.PENANATUdW2Uvnm1
899Please respect copyright.PENANA9vFpfN8R2Z
899Please respect copyright.PENANAJWZSPmSs8V
And on sunny days he would sleep in her shade. Her branches weren't able to move or she would have speared him with one. 899Please respect copyright.PENANAlAJYRF5o10
899Please respect copyright.PENANA0yHeRMNa9l
899Please respect copyright.PENANA3bJ2u0HvEX
And the boy was creeped out by the tree.899Please respect copyright.PENANApgPo35q64r
899Please respect copyright.PENANA9eCYkoPPef
899Please respect copyright.PENANAo0nVHK33IC
Very much.899Please respect copyright.PENANAAZ7OG7txDQ
899Please respect copyright.PENANAWMRwYaEmxL
899Please respect copyright.PENANAQ6Mdqgjk96
And the tree was full of hate.899Please respect copyright.PENANAumkLul7Lix
899Please respect copyright.PENANAhQlCYzMMUM
899Please respect copyright.PENANAtGfHJgeb7C
As time went by the tree grew more spiteful.899Please respect copyright.PENANAOZTnKpent9
899Please respect copyright.PENANAxXTLVu1Lln
899Please respect copyright.PENANA7BlMu0cnBb
And the malevolent tree was often alone.899Please respect copyright.PENANA1V9d50C2Zy
899Please respect copyright.PENANAQm8EZzVTt2
899Please respect copyright.PENANAigRMMaKZ6S
One day the boy came to the tree and the tree said, “Come, Boy. Come and climb up my trunk and swing from my branches and fall off and break your neck.”899Please respect copyright.PENANAgnXXVtFjho
899Please respect copyright.PENANAtzzwIbJ3pH
899Please respect copyright.PENANAJ928wXdA5X
“I don't want to climb up and break my neck,” said the boy. “I'm just thinking of a way to make some money. Do you know how I could make some money?”899Please respect copyright.PENANAuC6CbmsXwz
899Please respect copyright.PENANAMiHb5MbaeR
899Please respect copyright.PENANAX3WBo2cOP5
“I do,” said the black hearted tree. “Climb up into my branches, Boy. Climb up and pick my apples and sell them. Then you can make some money. Then you will be happy.”899Please respect copyright.PENANAdEBfGq5TCU
899Please respect copyright.PENANA5JDGrTvqat
899Please respect copyright.PENANAbipZpuWrix
So the boy climbed up to pick her apples, but the tree shook her branches and the boy fell out and broke his arm. 899Please respect copyright.PENANAWPc3NqDKVj
899Please respect copyright.PENANAMOVD0AIfTf
899Please respect copyright.PENANAxKikoYG4pv
And the tree was happy.899Please respect copyright.PENANAfn0vPCl05q
899Please respect copyright.PENANA1agljNXC65
899Please respect copyright.PENANA9VMxIucda5
But the boy stayed away for a long time and the tree glared at him and his family through their windows while they were sleeping and thought of ways to do them harm. 899Please respect copyright.PENANA4Nj1QuZtBK
899Please respect copyright.PENANAD2LBwqbxj2
899Please respect copyright.PENANASI96kXRsDR
And then one day the boy came back and the tree shook with fury and she said, “Come, Boy, climb up my trunk and fall down and break your arm again and be miserable.”899Please respect copyright.PENANAQr4NytCdj2
899Please respect copyright.PENANAChKzCIfVgK
899Please respect copyright.PENANAMnjVrwIMnv
“I learned my lesson last time I climbed you,” said the boy. “I'm just trying to think of a way to build a fort for my child. You wouldn't know of a way for me to build a fort would you?”899Please respect copyright.PENANA7UiVGxJdEf
899Please respect copyright.PENANAUBL9dj9A6z
899Please respect copyright.PENANAPUbm8ajEeI
“I have no fort,” said the tree. “The forest is my fort. But you may cut off my branches and build a fort for your child. Then you will be happy.”899Please respect copyright.PENANAJntD0WpJ94
899Please respect copyright.PENANAnmIbO3FaW5
899Please respect copyright.PENANAS3qTsUewJf
And so the boy got a ladder and a saw and cut off a branch, but the branch fell wrong and hit the ladder and made it fall and the boy broke his leg. 899Please respect copyright.PENANA7Ypupbkaag
899Please respect copyright.PENANADlahMHjbTo
899Please respect copyright.PENANAw1Iwk0exar
And the tree was happy.899Please respect copyright.PENANAJTYGy3Taai
899Please respect copyright.PENANAaJpgwSevOK
899Please respect copyright.PENANAOlkqjx6zYt
But the boy stayed away for a long time. And when he came back the tree was so angry she could hardly speak. 899Please respect copyright.PENANAp44QhO9yxU
899Please respect copyright.PENANArj9QvGKfXP
899Please respect copyright.PENANAwFUzVOj7dj
“Come, Boy,” she whispered, “tie a noose around one of my branches and hang yourself from it.”899Please respect copyright.PENANAXwV1Ta1iKZ
899Please respect copyright.PENANAG5Bij4ianA
899Please respect copyright.PENANAf6AgpGMrCs
“I'm too old to climb up and hang a noose,” said the boy. “I brought some gasoline and matches with me and I'm going to burn you to the ground and rid the world of your wickedness.”899Please respect copyright.PENANAjFQ51Re9bO
899Please respect copyright.PENANASBZKvgnpd2
899Please respect copyright.PENANAiPpTFaywDl
“Come soak me in gasoline and light me on fire,” said the tree. “Then you can burn me to ash and be happy.”899Please respect copyright.PENANAryXQGOKGwL
899Please respect copyright.PENANAJHexZyUib7
899Please respect copyright.PENANAD1eLwFNTDR
And so the boy doused the bottom of the tree in gasoline and lit a match and threw it onto the tree. But the tree’s roots had wrapped around his feet and the fire burned the boy’s legs. The fire quickly burnt itself out and the boy left swearing vengeance. 899Please respect copyright.PENANAlK6DDOI7KT
899Please respect copyright.PENANATiqNeeek2A
899Please respect copyright.PENANASvtb9SAfNS
And the tree was happy. But not really. She wouldn't be happy until the boy was dead and gone.899Please respect copyright.PENANAbdmQkDHyHa
899Please respect copyright.PENANAqBEN7R1xm0
899Please respect copyright.PENANA8B6caIC3lY
And after a long time the boy came back again. Holding and axe.899Please respect copyright.PENANAUGno5izfyp
899Please respect copyright.PENANAu67oplPbHX
899Please respect copyright.PENANAk6JGlsahN2
“I am sorry, Boy,” said the tree, “but you have only one thing left that I want.”899Please respect copyright.PENANAZQZEoArMyE
899Please respect copyright.PENANAJOdWC7aWP0
899Please respect copyright.PENANAWBLqtxKxZU
“I'm not here to give you anything,” said the boy. “This time I'm here to take.”899Please respect copyright.PENANAPUOa70xiNz
899Please respect copyright.PENANAOMavPoxHY8
899Please respect copyright.PENANAJlcEbaUnPq
“Like I took your arm?”899Please respect copyright.PENANA6wvSrXvMgV
899Please respect copyright.PENANAMwIypE6bVF
899Please respect copyright.PENANAk2icHsZaEh
“It's never been the same since you threw me out,” said the boy. “Now it's your turn to fall.”899Please respect copyright.PENANAX8RlguF9v7
899Please respect copyright.PENANAS2svhGAINm
899Please respect copyright.PENANAy257dMCZSf
“Like you did when you cut my branch? When you broke your leg?” asked the tree.899Please respect copyright.PENANAezXYRHdvty
899Please respect copyright.PENANAMfXdWsbtuR
899Please respect copyright.PENANA5vnT8AqOCn
“Not a mistake I will make again,” said the boy. “I didn't bring a ladder to climb. I brought an axe to cut.”899Please respect copyright.PENANAgxwHnAgjKW
899Please respect copyright.PENANAB8sjsKiPDl
899Please respect copyright.PENANAb2TbwC34OI
“You are not going to try and burn me like I burned you?” the tree asked in her hideous voice.899Please respect copyright.PENANAnXIDSZL9Vs
899Please respect copyright.PENANAzGhjqPobyq
899Please respect copyright.PENANAMUsZar1EKB
“No,” said the boy. “No more foolish talk. I'm here to take your black heart and extinguish your evil forever.”899Please respect copyright.PENANAk3kEb0cxbM
899Please respect copyright.PENANAaB3i3vl5Ox
899Please respect copyright.PENANAFJWk8OZ87x
“I'm sorry, Boy,” said the vile tree. “But I will not be giving today. I will be taking.”899Please respect copyright.PENANAnXcWS95nVT
899Please respect copyright.PENANAzXRp24KvtX
899Please respect copyright.PENANAjBFPcrjw2H
So the boy came forward and began to swing his axe. With every swing he cut into the old, foul flesh of the tree. With every stroke of the axe the depraved tree howled in pain and cursed at the boy. 899Please respect copyright.PENANAd385z8FEKu
899Please respect copyright.PENANAL1NHi4KOOq
899Please respect copyright.PENANAtoDFGd6w32
Finally the tree came toppling down, but as it fell it used all of it’s strength to lunge one last time. It threw it’s weight towards the boy and the hate filled tree toppled down and smashed atop the boy breaking his body once and for all.899Please respect copyright.PENANA6X8dWKJmS7
899Please respect copyright.PENANAsir3iKHwaQ
899Please respect copyright.PENANAMxZRsg6YBA
The boy struggled under the weight of the wood that pinned him to the ground. Finally he was able to free himself and inch his way out from under it. 899Please respect copyright.PENANA3nBpdulEfb
899Please respect copyright.PENANAn7J6cqrowW
899Please respect copyright.PENANAnoK43Jp72m
“There,” the boy said in barely a whisper as his life force was fleeing from his body. “Now the world will never bear witness to your degenerate spirit again.”899Please respect copyright.PENANASpS1WlEzXB
899Please respect copyright.PENANAdlfTjnoAaa
899Please respect copyright.PENANAIfT3B8Fmef
“You may have ended me, but I told you I would be taking today, Boy,” the tree said. “Now I'm just an old stump. But an old stump is good for laying up against as you die. Come, Boy, come lay up against me and let us watch each other die.”899Please respect copyright.PENANAwawDtKixd1
899Please respect copyright.PENANAFSvJ1BKDXI
899Please respect copyright.PENANA4Hm7zr7Q3z
And the boy did. 899Please respect copyright.PENANAOAlSwnnbnj
899Please respect copyright.PENANAHMOo8iFLQM
899Please respect copyright.PENANADYvwU6RTa1
And the tree was happy.899Please respect copyright.PENANAF3PPJTqlgp
899Please respect copyright.PENANAkeu3HQxVCm