Stolen bread

This is a random short story. Enjoy.

The tree watched impassively as a boy ran towards it, clutching something in his arms. When he was near, he stuffed the loaves of bread he was carrying into his shirt, and clambered up the tree as fast as he could.

“Where are you, you little rascal!” A man appeared from the corner of the street, stood gasping for breath, and looking left and right. His face was ruddy, with some flour smeared over his left cheek.

The boy was still climbing up, but quietly now, fearful of attracting his pursuer’s attention. Tears were streaming down his cheeks, and he bit his lower lip to keep from crying out. His hands were shaking as he clutched at the tree branches.

The tree took pity on the boy. If one looked very closely, one might even notice that the branches and leaves moved ever so slightly to better hide the boy.

The wind blew.

The fallen leaves on the streets flew towards an alley.

“I’ll get you!” roared the man. And he staggered towards the alley.

The leaves of the tree swayed and rustled in the wind, as if calming the boy. The boy continued to weep.

The wind died.

After some time, the man reappeared in the street from the alley, muttering to himself. Then he walked back from whence he first came from.

There was a chirp from somewhere near the boy. He looked up. There was a nest with two chicks in it.

“You must be hungry.”

The boy reached into his shirt and broke off a bit of the bread he carried. He crumbled it over the nest. Then he starting eating too.

The tree smiled. If it could, of course.