The Story of the Pine Tree from Gaziantep,Türkiye

Nuray Tuncay Kara BİLSEM-Eda Durmaz's Students

It was a rainy autumn day. Among the other trees in the schoolyard, a tiny sapling met the soil. Just like the students who had just started school, it was excited. The gardener who planted it carefully placed its roots in the ground and smiled, saying, "You will become a part of this school too."

Time passed, and the seasons changed. The little sapling learned to dance with the wind and inhale the fresh scent of the soil after the rain. On sunny days, it stretched its branches toward the sky and continued to grow. 

Each year, its roots became stronger, its branches multiplied, and before long, it had become one of the most beautiful pine trees in the schoolyard.

The students gathered under it during recess, rested in its shade on hot summer days, and sometimes whispered their secrets to it. One day, their teacher asked them to observe the trees in the schoolyard and choose the one that interested them the most. The children walked around, touching the branches and examining the leaves. Little Elif felt her heart beat faster as she approached a particular tree.

Leaning against its sturdy trunk, she whispered,
"You have grown just like us, haven’t you?"

The tree gently swayed its branches and replied with the melody of the wind,
"Yes! But growing with you is the best part."

From that day on, the students loved the pine tree even more. They read books under its shade, played games around it, and shared their happiest moments there. The pine tree had become a living memory of the school. It was not just a tree; it was a friend.

Years passed… Elif and her friends graduated and left, but the pine tree still stood tall in the schoolyard. New students arrived, new laughter filled the air. But the pine tree never forgot its old friends. Its branches were full of memories from the past. And who knows? Maybe one day, when Elif returned, she would sit under its shade and remember the beautiful moments of her childhood…