Lata Loves Trees

Jul 13, 2026

Upload by Eden

A fourth-grade girl named Lata forms an intimate friendship with the krishnachura tree behind her house, growing up around its branches and confiding in it through anger, sadness, and joy. After a childhood incident involving a goat and the tree, her bond deepens. Later, when Lata returns from Dhaka with garlands, she discovers the tree has been cut down. Her parents explain the reasons, forcing Lata to face loss, growing up, and silence in the face of change.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryStory & Novel

FormatPDF

Pages19

Reading Time29 min

Lata and Her Krishnachura Tree

Friendship in the Village

The Goat Incident

A Trip to Dhaka

The Tree Is Cut Down

Lata Loves Trees Tasnima Iqbal, Akashleena Nidhi Tamanna Tasneem Supti, Afrin Jahan It was late afternoon. The green leaves of the tree shone in the sunlight. Behind the house Lata was sitting in the krishnachura tree, which was full of flowers . Lata was hugging the tree and talking to it. Lata was in fourth grade. Her curly hair, eyes, and skin were the color of clay. * krishnachura is a tree with fern-like green leaves and bright orange-red flowers While most children grow up in their elders’laps, Lata had grown up in trees . Everyone nicknamed her Briksho Lata. She didn’t have many human friends. Instead, all the trees in the village were her friends. She did have an enemy though. Chanchal was a boy from the village who was three years younger than Lata. He constantly followed Lata around, teasing her. * briksho means tree 3 One day when Lata was younger, she sat in her favorite krishnachura tree . It was also smaller back then. One of Chanchal’s goats was eating leaves from the tree . Lata grabbed the goat’s rope and yanked it away from the tree, accidentally hurting it. Lata’s father was so angry at her, he scolded her for behaving cruelly without thinking. He scolded her a lot. Her mom comforted her. Chanchal clapped happily, he was glad Lata got in trouble. Ever since then, Lata and the tree had the closest bond. She climbed to its highest branches to read, sleep, and play. When she was angry with her mother, she hugged the tree and cried. Today, she excitedly hugged the tree and told it that she was going to Dhaka with her aunt tomorrow! After a few days in Dhaka, Lata was homesick. She was so happy to head back to her village on the train with her uncle. She had bought a lot of colorful flower garlands for her krishnachura tree and she couldn’t wait todrape them on her tree’s branches and see how beautiful it looked. When the train arrived, she ran home to her tree with the garlands in hand. She was shocked to see that her tree had been cut down . Father said,”This tree wasn’t useful. It didn’t have fruit or good wood so I cut it down . I’ll plant a red guava tree here for you instead. You love red guava, you can eat its fruit!” Mother explained,”You don’t study. You don’t eat. You talk about the tree all the time. That’s why your father cut this tree down . It’s good, you’re growing up now. You can’t keep climbing trees!” Hearing this, Lata froze . She couldn’t say anything to anyone. Her chest tightened and her eyes filled with tears, but she didn’t cry. She sat quietly on the tree stump of her beloved krishnachura tree . She sat there for

FAQs

Why did Lata have very few human friends?

Lata didn’t have many human friends; she considered all the trees in the village her companions. People even nicknamed her “Briksho Lata.”

What happened when Lata was younger and the goat ate the tree leaves?

One of Chanchal’s goats ate leaves from the krishnachura tree. Lata pulled the goat’s rope away from the tree, accidentally hurting it, which led her father to scold her a lot.

What did Lata learn when she returned from Dhaka?

After traveling home, Lata found that her krishnachura tree had been cut down. Her father said it wasn’t useful, and he would plant a red guava tree instead, while her mother linked the decision to Lata’s lack of study and constant focus on the tree.

Jul 13, 2026

Upload by Eden