In the parable of The Giving Tree, a young boy would gather his favorite tree's leaves on mild autumn afternoons. He fashioned them into a crown for his head and played king of the forest. The tree was fun to climb, and he loved to eat its delicious apples. The boy enjoyed swinging from the tree's branches, and discovered a shady resting place beneath those same branches on hot summer days.

As the boy became a teenager, he visited the tree less frequently. He did stop by once to carve his initials, and those of his girlfriend, on the apple tree's trunk, framing them with a heart. As the boy matured and his interests changed, he found that he needed some spending money. So, he picked the tree's luscious apples and sold them at the farmers' market in town.

As an adult, he cut off many of t…