Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful olive tree. She was the most beautiful tree in the forest. Olive knew that everyone admired her.
The colorful birds sat on Olive's branches.
They sang beautiful songs of spring.
Olive spread her branches and looked at her beautiful leaves.
A fig tree grew nearby.
"Oh Fig, just look at how beautiful I am," called out Olive. "Aren't my leaves so thick and beautiful?"
"Oh yes, they are," answered the fig tree politely.
Soon it was autumn. Fig's leaves started to change colors. Olive's leaves stayed green and thick.
"Oh, poor Fig!" Olive whispered loudly to the bird. "His leaves are changing colors!"
"Why are Fig's leaves changing colors?" whispered the bird.
"His leaves are getting weak," Olive said quietly.
"As it gets colder, Fig's leaves will start to fall off. Soon Fig will have no leaves at all. He will be naked and . . . ugly!"
"What about you, Olive?" asked the little bird.
"Don't worry about me," Olive answered proudly. "My leaves are the same all year round. They are always thick, green, and beautiful."
Winter arrived a few months later.
"Oh, poor Fig!" cried Olive. "You must be so cold standing there naked! I wish I could give you some of my leaves."
Fig knew that Olive was teasing him. Sometimes he wished he had beautiful leaves all year long too. But he was not an olive tree. He was a fig tree. He stood proudly and ignored Olive.
One day it began to snow. The snowflakes fell and landed on Olive's leaves. They also fell on the ground next to Fig.
The snow fell harder and harder.
"Oh, my branches are so heavy," complained Olive. "I can't hold up all of this snow!"
Olive's beautiful leaves were covered in snow. Suddenly there was a cracking sound.
"Oh no!" cried Olive.
Olive's branches broke and fell off, one after another. Soon she had no branches left.
In the spring, the bird returned.
"What happened to Olive?" the bird asked Fig.
"She learned a lesson," answered Fig. "Sometimes it's not good to be the same all the time. We are all different for a reason."