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Author:   Buhle   Vilakazi Illustrator:   Abraham   Muzee

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Once   upon   a   time,   there   was    a  young  man  called    Pontshibobo.  When  he  was    little   he   was   a   very   good   boy.    He had  grown  into  a  very    good  man.  He  respected    everybody   he   met.

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Pontsihibobo  had  a  friend    called  Hippo.  He  was  not    respectful   like   Pontshibobo. One   day   Pontshibobo   and    Hippo   were   walking   down    the   street   together.   Hippo    had   an   idea,   “Let's   go   and    smoke   a   zol,”   he   said.

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Pontshibobo   was   surprised.    “Why  do  you  ask  me  to    smoke   with   you?   You   know    t h a t   I   d o n ' t   s m o k e . ”

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Hippo  got  cross.  “If  you    don't  want  to  smoke  with    me   you   can't   be   my   friend,”    he   said   and   walked   off. Pontshibobo  went  home    and   sat   under   the   tree   in   his    yard   and   cried.

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“Why   are   you   crying?”   asked    the  tree.  Pontshibobo got  a    huge  fright.  He had  never    heard   a   tree   talking   before. He  told  the  tree  about    Hippo.   “I   have   lost   a   friend,”    he   said.

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The   tree   asked   Pontshibobo,    “What  do  you  really  wish    for?”  Pontshibobo thought    for   a   while. Then  he  replied, “I  want  a    h o u s e .   I   a m   g r o w n   u p   n o w   a n d   I   w a n t   a   h o m e .   I   w a n t   t o   marry   and   have   children.”

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The  tree  also  thought  for  a    while.  “Take  my  leaves  and    my  branches  and  build    yourself   a   house   with   them,”    he   said. Pontshibobo did  as  the  tree    told   him   and   he   built   a   small,    beautiful  house.  He  married    and had  children.  He  was    happy.

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But  the  tree was  not  happy.    Pontshibobo  had  forgotten    all   about   him   and   he   felt   sad.    “I  need  a friend,”  the  tree    s a i d   t o   h i m s e l f ,   “ o r   e l s e   I   w il l   die.” Just  at  that  moment    Pontshibobo  came  into  the    yard.   He   heard   what   the   tree    said,  and  he  saw that  the    tree   was   very   sick.

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Pontshibobo  was  also  sad.    He had  forgotten  all  about    the   tree   that   had   helped   him    build  a  house  for  his  wife    and  children.  “I  am  so    sorry,”   he   cried   and   gave   the    tree   a   big   hug.

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When   the   tree   saw   that   his    friend  was back  he  smiled.    He   grew   new   branches   and    fresh   leaves.

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Pontshibobo's  children    climbed   up   the   branches   of    the  tree.  Pontshibobo  and    his  wife  sat  in  the  shade    after   a   long   day   at   work. They  told  stories  and    laughed   and   were   happy.    Pontshibobo   and   the   tree    were   friends   forever.

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Story   Attribution: This   story:   Pontshibobo's   tree   is   written   by   Buhle   Vilakaz i   .   ©   African   Storybook   Initiative   ,   2015.   Some   rights   reserved.   Released   under   CC   BY   4.0   license. O t h e r   C r e d i t s : This   book   has   been   published   on   StoryWeaver   by   African   StoryBook   Initiative. Images   Attributions: Cover   page:   Man   and   tree ,   by   Abraham   Muzee   ©   African   Storybook   Initiative,   2015.   Some   rights   reserved.   Released   under   CC   BY   4.0   license.   Page   2:   Man    speaking ,  by  Abraham  Muzee   ©  African  Storybook  Initiative,  2015.  Some  rights  reserved.  Released  under  CC  BY  4.0  license.  Page  3:  Infront  of the  shoe    store ,   by   Abraham   Muzee   ©   African   Storybook   Initiative,   2015.   Some   rights   reserved.   Released   under   CC   BY   4.0   license.   Page   4:   Conversation ,   by   Abraham    Muzee   ©   African   Storybook   Initiative,   2015.   Some   rights   reserved.   Released   under   CC   BY   4.0   license.   Page   5:   Attacking   conversation ,   by   Abraham   Muzee   ©    African  Storybook  Initiative,  2015.  Some  rights  reserved.  Released  under  CC  BY  4.0  license.  Page  6:  Sad  man  beneath  tree ,  by  Abraham  Muzee   ©  African    Storybook   Initiative,   2015.   Some   rights   reserved.   Released   under   CC   BY   4.0   license.   Page   7:   Talking   tre e ,   by   Abraham   Muze e   ©   African   Storybook   Initiative,    2015.   Some   rights   reserved.   Released   under   CC   BY   4.0   license.   Page   8:   Conversation   with   tre e ,   by   Abraham   Muzee   ©   African   Storybook   Initiative,   2015. Some   rights   reserved.   Released   under   CC   BY   4.0   license.   Page   9:   Family   tim e ,   by   Abraham   Muzee   ©   African   Storybook   Initiative,   2015.   Some   rights   reserved.   Released   under   CC   BY   4.0   license.   Page   10:   The   sad   tale ,   by   Abraham   Muzee   ©   African   Storybook   Initiative,   2015.   Some   rights   reserved.   Released   under   CC    BY   4.0   license.   Page   11:   Hugging   the   tre e ,   by   Abraham   Muze e   ©   African   Storybook   Initiative,   2015.   Some   rights   reserved.   Released   under   CC   BY   4.0   license.

Some rights  reserved.  This  book  is  CC-BY-4.0  licensed.  You can  copy,  modify,   distribute   and   perform   the   work,   even   for   commercial   purposes,   all   without   asking    permission. For full  terms of use  and  attribution,    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 /

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Images   Attributions: Page   12:   Patting   tre e ,   by   Abraham   Muze e   ©   African   Storybook   Initiative,   2015.   Some   rights   reserved.   Released   under   CC   BY   4.0   license.

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This   is   a   Level   3   book   for   children   who   are   ready   to   read   on   their   own.

This   story   teaches   us   about   true   friendship.

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