A long time ago, there was a humongous apple tree.
A little boy loved to come and play around it everyday.
He climbed to the treetop. He ate the apples. 
He took a nap in its shadow. He loved the tree and the tree loved to play with him.
Time went by. The little boy had now become a teenager and he no longer played around the tree anymore.
One day, the boy came back to the tree and he discovered that it looked sad .
“Come and play with me” the tree seemed to ask the boy.
“I am no longer a kid, I do not play around trees any more,” the boy replied. “I want the latest gadgets. I need money to buy them.”
“Sorry, but I do not have money, but you can pick all my apples and sell them. Then, you will have money.”
The boy was so excited.
He grabbed all the apples on the tree and left happily.
The boy did not come back after he picked the apples. The tree was deeply saddened once again.
One day, many years later, the boy who now had turned into a man returned and the tree was thrilled!
“Come and play with me,” the tree seemed to have said.
“I do not have time to play.
I have to work for my wife and children. We need a house for shelter. Can you help me?” the man replied.
“Sorry, but I do not have any houses. But you can chop off my branches to build your house.”
So the man cheerfully cut all the branches of the tree and left happily. The tree was glad to see him happy but the man did not come back for years and years. The tree was again lonely and upset.
One hot summer day, the man returned and the tree was delighted.
“Come and play with me,” the tree seemed to say.
“I am approaching my fifties. I want to go sailing so I can relax during my holidays. Can you give me a boat?” asked the man. 
“Use my trunk to build your boat. You can sail far away and be happy,” the tree seemed to have replied.
So the man joyfully cut the tree trunk to make a boat. He went sailing and did not show up for a long time.
Finally, the man returned after many years.
“Sorry, my boy. But I do not have anything for you anymore. No more apples for you,” the tree seemed to have said.
“No problem, I do not have any more teeth to bite,” the man replied.
“No more trunk for you to climb on,” the tree seemed to have responded.
“I am too old for that now too,” the man said.
“I really cannot give you anything, my boy. The only thing left is my dying roots,” the tree seemed to have said with tears. 
“I do not need much now, just a place to rest. I am tired after all these years,” the man remarked.
“Good! Old tree roots are the best place to lean on and rest, Come, come sit down with me and rest,” the tree seemed to have heartily whispered.
The man sat down on the grass, leaning his weak body on the tree stump. The tree was so glad it seemed to have smiled with tears…
This is a story for everyone.
The tree is like our parents.
When we were young, we loved to play with our Mum and Dad.
When we grow up, we leave them… only come back to them when we need something or when we are in trouble.
No matter what,
our parents will always be there and give everything they could.
Just to make you happy.
You may think the boy is cruel to the tree, but that is how almost all of us treat our parents. We take them for granted. We don’t appreciate all the things that they do for us, UNTIL it’s too late.
May Allah* forgive us of our shortcomings and may He Guide us, Ameen*.
Love your Parents….
“And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him. And that you be dutiful to your parents. If one of them or both of them attain old age in your life, say not to them “Uff” (a word of disrespect), nor shout at them but address them in terms of honour.” [Quran; 17:23]
“And lower unto them the wing of humility out of mercy, and say: ‘My Lord! Have mercy on them as they did bring me up when I was small.’ ” [Quran; 17:24]
Rasulullah* (s.a.w.*) said that Jibreel (a.s.*) (who is one of the angels) said that
“Woe unto him in whose presence his parents or either one of them attains old age, and (through failure to serve them) he is not allowed to enter Jannah”.
To this Rasulullah(s.a.w.) said, “Ameen”.
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This story has been adapted from a Facebook post by Sheikh Dr Reda Bedeir (Reda Bedeir , · ) However, as mentioned by brother Imran, one of our readers, this story was originally written by famed children’s author Shel Silverstein – published in the 1960s as The Giving Tree.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Giving_Tree
Thank you, brother Imran for informing us. Jazakum Allah khayran.
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A video of this story has been made by Sister Sana Nayab and her family. Masha Allah, tabarakAllah. Allahumma baarik lahum. Let’s support them on Youtube at “KnowledgeisPower” Youtube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuaxNCNF9nJyEqdK5ooeQWA . And also at their blog https://khadeejayasser.wordpress.com/
The following video can also be found at
https://khadeejayasser.wordpress.com/2017/02/19/the-apple-tree/
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*Brief Meanings:
- Allah = God. The only one worth being worshiped.
- Ameen = May God accept our prayers and du’aa (supplications).
- Rasulullah = Messenger of God
- s.a. w. = sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam = Prayer of God be upon him (Prophet Muhammad) and peace
- a.s. = alayhis salaam = peace be upon him (This term is usually said after mentioning the names of Prophets or those very close to the Lord)
- Jannah = Heaven in Islam. Jannah is described in the Qur’an as an eternal afterlife of peace and bliss, where the faithful and righteous are rewarded. They will be restful in the presence of God, in “gardens beneath which rivers flow.” Jannah also comes from an Arabic word which means “to cover or hide something.” Heaven, therefore, is a place which is unseen to us at the moment. The Quran describes that Jannah is “…a beautiful place of final return – a garden of eternity, whose doors will be opened to them” (Qur’an 38:49-50). Read more about how the Quran describes Jannah.
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Other resources:
http://islam.about.com/od/heavenhell/g/gl_jannah.htm
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Image Credits:
http://wuppsy.com/apple-coloring-pages/
http://aesh.tk/family-coloring-pages/
http://www.getcoloringpages.com/boat-coloring-page
http://www.oncoloring.com/tree-coloring-pages.html
http://www.printactivities.com/ColoringPages/SummerFun/summer-nap.html
____https://au.pinterest.com/pin/561120434794071845/
Stories for Muslim Kids 
I want to ask if I can use your articles to teach others and kids with acknowlegding courtesy credit to your link as well. Is that fine with you?
Salam sister Sana Nayab. Yes, that’s fine, as long as you link it back to this website, insha Allah. I am not earning financially through this website so I hope that you are not selling the stories for a profit. If you are, I hope that you could donate a little portion of your profit to your nearest mosque or Islamic organisation on a yearly basis, insha Allah. Thanks for writing in to seek permission. I appreciate that. Jazakum Allah khayran. Sincerely, SFMK
Walaikum salaam 🙂
I won’t be earning either just for the sake of spreading knowledge and community work only.
Do appreciate your suggestion however Alhumdulillah.
Alhamdulillah. No worries then sister. May Allah put barakah in your projects and make them a means for you to be granted Jannatul Firdaus. Ameen, yaa Rabb! 🙂
Ameen 😊
Here’s how I used it so far – https://khadeejayasser.wordpress.com/2017/02/19/the-apple-tree/
Assalaamu’alaykum sister Sana Nayab. Your video was superbly beautiful. Masha Allah tabarakAllah. BarakAllahu feek. I had tears of happiness in my eyes. Well done, sister. ❤ May Allah put Barakah in all your projects. May Allah accept these from us both and and from our families and from those who have written or contributed to all the stories that we are sharing on our websites. Ameen! ❤
assalmu alaikum ,
Read your above conversation.
Can i print or transalate any stories of your site to other language ( Bangla) with acknowledging writer name with your web link aiming to improve kids islamic knowledge & of course not earnig money or business purpose . Then should i have to take permission from writer ( eg. Dr. Reda bedir)?
Wa’alaykum salaam brother/sister Sirdap, Sure, you can. Go ahead, insha Allah. About asking permission from Dr Reda Bedeir, I think you need not ask his permission. I reckon he wouldn’t mind at all, insha Allah. Nonetheless, if you feel like writing in to him, please do. May Allah put Barakah in your project. May Allah make it successful always. Ameen.
Concerning permission, is it applicable to other writers of your site also ?
ZajhakALLAHU Khairan …
Assalaamu’alaykum brother/sister Sirdap. Thanks for being very cautious about plagiarism. I am also trying to make sure that the authors and/or publishers and/or illustrators and/or photographers of the stories on my site get acknowledged too. That is why when you look at the end of every story, you will see some form of acknowledgements and/or credits. I have not necessarily asked the authors’ and/or owners’ permissions for all of my stories, but I always mention the websites that I obtain them from. I usually edit the stories and sometimes add additional “hadith” or Quran verses. Or add Islamically-correct pictures, or “Further Reading” ideas, or “Moral” sections, etc… So, in other words, I suppose I have paraphrased the original story, in most cases. As for you, it is totally up to you, whether you want to contact the authors/websites before you publish the stories on your website. You may choose instead, to just link your site back to my site, by mentioning (at the end or beginning of your story) my website address from where you took the story. And you can also mention the original story’s website too. I hope that that answers your question, insha Allah. I know this is a tricky issue, isn’t it? The worst thing is that on the day of Judgement, these owners/authors will ask for their rights from us. SubhanAllah. That would be awful for us! I must emphasise that I am not making any money out of this site. I hope Allah will forgive us for our mistakes. We mean well, don’t we? We want our Muslim kids and their families to have Halal resources from a Halal environment from which they can learn from, don’t we? Anyways… May Allah forgive me and you for our shortcomings. May Allah put Barakah in our sites. May Allah make our sites be a form of Sadaqah Jaariyah for us always. Ameen.
Amee. ..
As salaamu alaikum wr wb! This story was originally written by famed children’s author Shel Silverstein – published in the 1960s as The Giving Tree.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Giving_Tree
Wa’alaykum salaam wa rahmatullAahi wa barakaatuh. Alhamdulillah. Thank you for letting me know about it, brother Imran. I appreciate it. I shall add that reference to the post soon, insha Allah. Jazakum Allah khayr.