The poignant last lines of "The Giving Tree," the classic children's book by Shel Silverstein, have been brought to life on an actual tree.
Locals in Oakland, California, are reportedly growing misty-eyed after a mystery person scrawled the ending of the 1964 story about a boy and his favorite apple tree on the stump of a tree that was chopped down, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
For those in need of a refresher, the book tells the story of a tree that spends its life giving shade and fruit to a boy it loves. Eventually, the boy grows old and the tree, now just a stump, offers him a quiet place to sit.
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"'Well,' said the tree, straightening herself up as much as she could," the famous last lines go. "'Well, an old stump is good for sitting and resting. Come, Boy, sit down. Sit down and rest.' And the boy did."
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The passage on the stump leaves out the final line: "And the tree was happy."
Oakland city officials have been unable to find out who carved the stump or who inscribed the lines of the book on it, according to The New York Times. The tree was reportedly still there as of a week ago.
Images of the stump, which was cut with a back to resemble a chair, gained attention after a photo appeared on Reddit earlier this week.
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