Exploring the value of patience through the story of The Boy and the Fruit Tree.
The video
GEMMA: Hello there, Treasure Champs, my name's Gemma and this is the story of The Boy and the Fruit Tree.
Once there was a boy who absolutely loved apples. He adored their sweet, juicy taste. The boy loved apples so much that he spent all his time at his favourite place - the apple trees!
Now, apples, like all fruit, need time to grow and ripen before they're ready to eat and how do we know when they're ready? Well, some apples fall to the ground by themselves.
But the little boy couldn't wait that long. He wanted to eat the apples straight away.
STORYTELLER: And do you know what he did? He pulled the apples from the tree before they were ready, even though these apples were hard and tasted bitter. He just couldn't wait!
SECURITY GUARD: Do not pull apples from the trees. I repeat, do not pull apples from the trees!
STORYTELLER: But the boy didn't listen to the warnings. He just couldn't wait to get some apples. The boy pulled lots and lots of apples from the tree.
GEMMA: The farmer who owned the trees saw that every day there was less fruit on them and he was confused. It wasn't the right time of year for fruit to fall to the ground, and when he checked the ground, there were no apples to be seen. So, where were all of his missing apples?
STORYTELLER: The farmer decided to guard his trees for the whole day. And eventually his patience paid off.
FARMER: Oi! Stop damaging my trees and stealing my fruit!
BOY: I didn't know I was doing any harm. I love apples so much I just couldn't wait for them to fall.
GEMMA: The farmer could see that the boy was only young and needed to learn, so he decided to take the boy to see the wise teacher. The teacher gave the boy an apple that hadn't been pulled from the tree; it had fallen down by itself and was ripe and ready to be eaten.
It was the most delicious apple the boy had ever tasted; much nicer than the unripe apples he'd taken before.
The boy realised that he needed to be patient and wait for the apples to ripen. And so he was patient. From that day on, he waited until the apples had dropped to the ground.
And with the farmer's permission, he was rewarded with apples that were ripe and juicy and delicious.
GEMMA: That was a tale based on an old Islamic story. I can't wait to see you next time, but I guess I'll just have to be patient. See you soon, bye!
This is a retelling of a story from Islam. The original story is sometimes known as The Boy who Threw Stones at Trees. This retelling is called The Boy and the Fruit Tree and instead of date trees the story is about apple trees.
A boy loves apples and spends all his time near the apple trees. The boy is impulsive and can’t wait until the apples ripen, so he starts pulling the apples from the trees too soon. The boy is warned that he needs to leave the apples alone, but he keeps taking them. The farmer notices that his crop is diminishing and waits to wait to see what is happening. He catches the boy and takes him to see the wise teacher. The wise teacher has an apple which is ripe and juicy and gives it to the boy. The boy realises how wonderful the fruit is when it has been left to ripen and that he needs to be patient.
Duration: 3' 43''
Final words: 'See you soon, bye!'
Video questions
- Why does the boy pick the apples from the trees? (Because he loves the taste of apples)
- Why does someone warn him about picking the apples? (Because the fruit isn’t ready to be picked and because it belongs to the farmer)
- How did the farmer realise that someone / something was taking the apples? (His crop kept getting smaller)
- Why does the farmer take pity on the boy? (He can see the boy is young and needs to learn)
- Where does the farmer take the boy? (To see the wise teacher…who teaches him to be patient)
Teacher Notes
This video could be used to retell religious, spiritual and moral stories. To retell the story, focus on the boy and what he is thinking when he is taking the apples from the trees too early and compare this with how the boy feels when he tastes the ripe apple given to him by the wise teacher.
The children might reflect on their own and others’ ideas, feelings and experiences by considering whether they agree or disagree that 'some things are worth waiting for'.
Think about the different things that you need to be patient with to learn well - eg handwriting, maths, riding a bike. Draw a picture of someone that is doing an activity that needs to be learnt over a period of time. If you have a local dance club, football team or gymnastics team, you might be able to ask someone who is very skilled to talk to the class.
Curriculum Notes
This short film will be relevant for teaching KS1 Religious Education in England and Northern Ireland, the Curriculum for Wales (particularly RVE as part of Humanities), and Early and 1st Level Religious and Moral Education in Scotland.
Further resources
