The Apple Tree and The Farmer

Once upon a time, there lived a farmer in a village, beside a forest. He had a big garden that had an old apple tree and other plants, trees and beautiful flowers. When the farmer was a little boy, he spent much of his time playing with the apple tree. Those days, the apple tree had given the choicest of apples to him. However, as time passed, the apple tree became old and stopped bearing fruits.
Now that the farmer was not getting any apples from the tree, he decided that the tree was useless.

Therefore, he decided to cut the tree and use its wood to make some new furniture. He felt that since the tree was old and huge, he did not have to cure it, and it would make great furniture. He forgot that as a boy, he had spent his entire childhood climbing the tree and eating its apples.

Now the apple tree was home to several little animals in the neighborhood. This included squirrels, sparrows and a huge variety of birds and insects. When the farmer took his axe and began chopping the tree, all the little animals came rushing down.

They all began to plead with the farmer. They gathered round the farmer and said, “Please don’t cut the tree. We used to play with you when you were small, under this very tree. This is our home and we have no other place to go”.

The farmer was adamant. He raised his axe and the commotion grew.
“Please don’t chop and destroy my home and kids,” cried the squirrel.
“Please don’t chop and destroy my nest,” cried the little birds.
“Please don’t cut the apple tree,” cried the grasshopper.

The farmer, however, forgot his childhood and his animal friends. He began to chop the tree harder. All the little animals became desperate, and wanted to protect the apple tree at any cost.
The little animals said, “We will sing for you when you are toiling away in the fields. We will look after your little boy. He will not cry, but instead will be entertained and happy. You will like our songs and will not feel tired.”

However, their cries for help fell on deaf ears. Despite all their requests, the farmer continued to chop down the tree.

All of a sudden, he noticed something shiny. On inspecting it, he realized that it was a beehive, full of honey. He took a little and put it in his mouth. The taste of the honey woke up the little boy in him. Suddenly, the memories of his childhood came rushing back. The honey tasted so good that he wanted more. It brought a sense of happiness to him. He smiled and exclaimed, “This tastes amazing.”

Realizing the change in the farmer’s attitude, the little animals spoke in unison: The bee said, “I will always provide you with sweet honey.” The squirrel said, “I will share any amount of nuts that you want.” The birds cried, “We will sing as many songs as you want.”

Finally, the farmer realized his folly, and put down his axe. He understood that the tree was home to many lovely animals that provided him with so many things. He wanted his little boy to have the childhood that he had.

The farmer realized that the apple tree was not that fruitless. The little boy in him saved the apple tree.

He threw away the axe and said to the little creatures, “I promise that I would never cut this tree. I have realized my mistake and you all can now live in peace and harmony.”
The little creatures thanked the bee profusely. If the farmer had not found the beehive, they would have been homeless by now. They continued living happily in the old apple tree.

terjemahan

 Suatu ketika hiduplah seorang petani yang tinggal di sebuah desa di dekat hutan. Dia memiliki kebun besar yang terdapat sebuah pohon apel tua dan tanaman lain serta pohon - pohon dan bunga yang indah di dalamnya. Ketika masih anak - anak, dia menghabiskan waktunya bermain - main dengan pohon apel tersebut. Kala itu pohon apelnya selalu memberikan buah terbaik untuknya. Tetapi seiring waktu berjalan, pohon apel tersebut menjadi tua dan tidak lagi berbuah.

Setelah sekarang dia tidak lagi memperoleh buah dari pohon apel tersebut, si petani memutuskan bahwa pohon itu sudah tidak lagi berguna. Karena itu dia memutuskan untuk menebang pohon tersebut dan menggunakan kayunya untuk perabotan rumah. Dia merasa karena pohon tersebut sudah tua dan tak dapat diperbaiki lagi, dan bisa menjadi perabotan yang bagus. Dia sudah lupa ketika masih kecil dia menghabiskan waktu memanjat dan memakan buah apel dari pohon itu.

Sekarang pohon tersebut merupakan tempat tinggal bagi beberapa hewan kecil yang hidup di sekitarnya. Hewan - hewan tersebut termasuk tupai, burung gereja, dan berbagai jenis burung juga serangga. Ketika si petani mengambil kapaknya dan mulai menebang pohon tersebut, para hewan mulai berlari - lari turun.

Mereka memohon pada si petani. Mereka mengelilingi si petani dan berkata, "tolong jangan potong pohon itu. Kami dulu sering bermain bersamamu ketika kau masih kecil di bawah pohon ini. Pohon ini adalah rumah kami dan kami tak bisa pergi kemanapun lagi.

Si petani bersikeras. Dia mengangkat kapaknya dan keributan terjadi.

"Tolong jangan hancurkan rumah dan kehidupan anak - anak kami," jering tupai.
"Kumohon jangan hancurkan sarangku," jerit para burung kecil.
"Tolong jangan kau tebang pohon apel itu, " belalang ikut menjerit.

Si petani, meskipun demikian, sudah lupa akan masa kecilnya dan para sahabat hewannya. Dia mulai menebang pohon tersebut kuat - kuat. Para hewan mulai putus asa dan berniat untuk melindungi pohon tersebut dengan segala cara.

Hewan - hewan tersebut berkata, "kami akan bernyanyi untukmu ketika kau sedang bekerja. Kami akan menjaga putramu. Dia tidak akan menangis melainkan terhibur dan bahagia. Kau akan menyukai nyanyian kami dan tidak akan merasa bosan."

Tapi jeritan pilu mereka sama sekali tidak digubris. Si petani tetap saja tetap saja melanjutkan menebang pohon itu.

Tiba - tiba saja dia melihat sesuatu bersinar. Kemudian dia sadar bahwa benda bersinar itu adalah sarang lebah yang penuh dengan madu. Dia mengambil sedikit madu dan mencicipinya. Rasa madu itu mengingatkan kembali akan kenangan masa kecilnya. Madu tersebut benar - benar lezat sehingga dia menginginkan lebih. Madu itu membawa kebahagiaan padanya.  Dia tersenyum dan berseru, "ini benar - benar luar biasa!"

Sadar akan perubahan sikap si petani, para hewan mulai berbicara serentak. Lebah berkata, "aku akan selalu menyediakan madu yang manis." Tupai berkata, "Aku akan membagi kacangku berapapun yang kau mau." Burung berseru, "kami akan menyanyikan lagu sebanyak apapun yang kau mau."

Akhirnya di petani sadar akan kebodohannya dan meletakkan kapaknya. Dia faham bahwa pohon itu adalah rumah bagi hewan - hewan menakjubkan yang menyediakannya begitu banyak kebaikan. Dia ingin agar putranya merasakan masa kecil seperti yang dulu pernah dia rasakan.

Dia pun menyadari bahwa pohon apel tersebut tidaklah tidak berguna. Anak kecil di dalam dirinya telah menyelamatkan pohon tersebut.

Si Petani melemparkan kapaknya dan berkata pada para hewan, "Aku berjanji tidak akan memotong pohon ini. Aku telah menyadari kesalahanku dan kalian semua bisa hidup dalam damai."

Para hewan berterima kasih yang sedalam - dalamnya pada lebah. Kalau saja dia tidak menemukan sarang lebah tersebut, mereka bisa saja kehilangan tempat tinggal. Mereka kemudian melanjutkan hidup mereka di pohon apel tersebut.